Zelenskyy: Territorial agreement is subject of subsequent negotiations with USA – media

The next round of talks to end Russia's war against Ukraine is scheduled for Tuesday or Wednesday (February 17-18), during which the territorial issue will likely be discussed, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with Bloomberg.

“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he accepted a US offer to host another round of talks next week to end Russia’s war, with negotiators likely to zero in on the difficult issue of territory,” the ezine said Wednesday.

As reported with reference to Zelenskyy, the newest round is slated for Tuesday or Wednesday, though it’s unclear whether Russia would agree to talks in the US. On the agenda is a US proposal to set up a free economic zone as a buffer in the eastern Donbas region, an option that the Ukrainian leader said both warring parties view with skepticism. “None of the sides is keen on the idea of the free economic zone — neither the Russians, nor us,” Zelenskyy said in a phone interview in Kyiv on Tuesday, though he declined to rule out the possibility.

“We have different views on it. And agreements were as follows — let’s come back with the vision of what it may look like for the next meeting,” he noted.

A previous round of talks earlier this month between Russian, Ukrainian and American officials in Abu Dhabi was constructive, Zelenskyy said, adding that the war could end within months if negotiations proceed in good faith.

The US administration wants to sign all the documents at the same time, Zelenskyy said. He stressed that Ukraine will need to approve the peace proposal either in a parliamentary vote or in a national referendum. “For the time being we are also talking about a sequencing plan of all our actions, including signing of documents. I think that after our next meeting, there should be an understanding,” Zelenskyy said.

According to Zelenskyy, recent talks in the United Arab Emirates focused on ceasefire mechanisms and how the USA would monitor it. However, he added, the negotiators were unable to finalize the details without high-level political decisions.

As negotiators carefully work out the wording of a future agreement, Zelenskyy said the discussions clearly showed that any ceasefire would require monitoring by the United States.

“Russians have one wording, we have another one, the Americans have the third one. There is an understanding that there will be monitoring, but there is also an understanding more work is needed on wording and details,” Zelenskyy said.

The next round of negotiations, which will also include bilateral talks with Washington, may look into proposals for postwar planning and zoom in on the economic issues, he said. To that end, Kyiv will dispatch Economy Minister Oleksiy Sobolev to join the delegation to discuss the so-called prosperity package with the USA, Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy noted that any optimism over progress shouldn’t obscure the difficulty Ukraine faces over recovery funding and maintaining the military capability to deter any future Russian attack. An economic shock could loom without clear sources of financing, he warned, referring to billions of dollars needed for reconstruction, social spending the military for years to come.

That would require a clear funding mechanism, with European participation, since even potential financing from frozen Russian central bank assets wouldn’t cover needs in the longer term, he said.

According to Zelenskyy, recent Russian air strikes on energy infrastructure knocked out as much as 10 gigawatts of Ukraine’s generating capacity, leading to daily power deficits of about five to six gigawatts over peak hours. Some facilities won’t be repaired until the next heating season.