Zelensky Says Ukraine Open to Demilitarized Economic Free Zone With Russia

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters that he would be willing to withdraw troops from the country’s eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end Russia’s war, if Moscow also pulls back and the area becomes a demilitarized, free economic zone monitored by international forces. Danylo Antoniuk/Anadolu via Getty Images The proposal marks the clearest indication yet of the compromises the Ukrainian leader would be willing to make on the Donbas region, control of which is a major sticking point in peace negotiations. A similar arrangement could be possible for the area around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is currently under Russian control, Zelenskyy said. He said that any peace plan would need to be put to a referendum. Zelenskyy spoke to reporters Tuesday to describe a 20-point overarching plan that negotiators from Ukraine and the U.S. hammered out in Florida in recent days, though he said that many details are still being discussed. Russia has given no indication that it will agree to any kind of withdrawal of its troops from land it has seized. In fact, Moscow has insisted that Ukraine relinquish the remaining territory it still holds in the Donbas - an ultimatum that Ukraine has rejected. Russia has captured most of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk - the two areas that make up the Donbas. Asked about the plan, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that Moscow would set out its position based on information received by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who met with U.S. envoys in Florida over the weekend. Peskov declined to share further details. American negotiators have engaged in a series of talks with Ukraine and Russia separately since U.S. President Donald Trump presented a plan to end the war last month - a proposal widely see as favoring Moscow, which invaded its neighbor nearly four years ago. Since then, Ukraine and its allies in Europe have worked to pull the plan closer to Kyiv’s position. Zelenskyy said that figuring out control of the Donbas region is “the most difficult point.” Meanwhile, on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the U.S. has proposed creating a consortium with Ukraine and Russia, in which each party would have an equal stake. Zelenskyy countered with a proposal for joint venture between the U.S. and Ukraine, in which the Americans would be able to decide how to distribute their share, including giving some of it to Russia. Zelenskyy acknowledged that the U.S. has not yet accepted Ukraine’s counterproposals. “We did not reach a consensus with the American side on the territory of the Donetsk region and on the ZNPP,” Zelenskyy said, using an acronym for the power plant in Zaporizhzhia. “But we have significantly brought most of the positions closer together. In principle, all other consensus in this agreement has been found between us and them.” Creating a free economic zone in the Donbas would require difficult discussions on how far troops would be required to move back and...

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