The US proposed creating a demilitarized "free economic zone" in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, but Ukraine rejected this initiative.
This is reported by Politico, citing sources.
According to the source, the content of the potential agreement remains unclear, and no decisions have been made yet. At the same time, the fate of Ukrainian territories under Russian occupation is one of the most difficult issues in the negotiations.
At the suggestion of the United States, it was planned to withdraw both Ukrainian and Russian troops from these territories and create a demilitarized economic zone there, in which American business interests could operate.
A French official interviewed by the publication also noted that the US is insisting on territorial concessions from Ukraine, despite strong objections from European countries.
He said this is causing tensions in Europeʼs relations with the Donald Trump administration. European leaders believe that any progress on the territorial issue is impossible without clear and reliable security guarantees for Ukraine.
Negotiations on the "peace plan"
The first version of the peace plan proposed by the United States consisted of 28 points. It provided for the recognition of Crimea, as well as the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, as de facto Russian.
After a series of negotiations between Ukraine, the United States, and European partners in Geneva starting on November 23, the American plan was reduced from 28 points to 19, taking into account the Ukrainian position.
Then, representatives of the United States and Ukraine met in Florida, and US representatives Witkoff and Kushner traveled to Moscow on December 2 for talks with the Russian side. No specific decisions were made at the talks, although the Russian Federation called the meeting "successful".
At press conferences on December 8 and 9, Zelensky commented on the state of the “peace plan”. He reported that the American “peace plan” had been reduced from 28 to 20 points — “blatantly unpro-Ukrainian points” had disappeared. The issues of territories where no compromise was found, the question of where European funds should be attracted, and the question of security guarantees remain.
There are currently three documents on peace. A framework document with 20 points — it is constantly changing. The second document is on security guarantees between Ukraine and the US and Ukraine and the Europeans. The third document concerns the recovery after the ceasefire.
On December 9, Axios, citing sources, wrote that Trumpʼs latest proposal contained stricter conditions than previous ones, in particular regarding territories and control over the Zaporizhzhia NPP.
Before his trip to Germany, the Ukrainian president said that he had not received a response from the United States to the latest proposal for a "peace plan", which Ukraine and its European partners prepared and submitted to the Americans this week.
The plan will not be such that it will please everyone. There are many compromises in any of its options. But the most important thing is that it be as fair as possible for Ukraine and effective: “Not just a piece of paper, but an important step towards ending the war.”
So that after its signing, Russia would not be able to launch a third aggression against the Ukrainian people.
Zelensky added that Ukraine wanted to join NATO from the very beginning, but the US and some European countries did not support it. Therefore, now bilateral security guarantees from the US in the format of Article 5 of the NATO Charter, as well as guarantees from European partners and other countries, are already a compromise on the part of Ukraine.
Regarding territorial issues, Zelensky believes that a ceasefire along the contact line could be a fair option today — Russia views this negatively and responds that Ukraine must leave Donbas.
The US has proposed a compromise: Ukrainian troops will leave these territories, and Russian troops will not enter them, and has called it a “free Ukrainian zone”. Ukraine does not accept this idea without a mutual withdrawal of troops. There is currently no solution to this issue.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.