What is currently being haggled over in a Ukraine peace plan

In a first published three weeks ago 28 point plan The USA had suggested that Ukraine withdraw completely from Donbass and leave the area to Russia. Now the supposed compromise looks like this, Zelenskiy described to journalists, “that Russian armed forces will not enter this area. Who will then govern it, which they call a ‘free economic zone’ or ‘demilitarized zone’ – they don’t know that… This is or something similar to what the United States of America’s compromise idea looks like today.”

No security guarantees

The Ukrainian president reacted with corresponding skepticism to the latest proposal – there is no guarantee that Russia will not immediately send its soldiers again to conquer the area.

The USA is pushing forward the negotiations between Kiev and the Europeans on the one hand and with Moscow on the other with maximum pressure; there is obviously hope, observers report, of reaching an agreement before Christmas.

So far, Russia has refused any concessions.

What the USA expects from Zelenskiy above all is some form of territorial concessions. He now brought up the idea of ​​letting the Ukrainian population vote: “This is a question that the Ukrainian people have to answer,” he said. “Either in the form of Elections or in the form of one Referendums.“

Moscow and Washington are demanding that Kiev withdraw from about a fifth of Donetsk province and a small part of neighboring Luhansk province, which are still under Ukrainian control. Taken together they form The two provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk are the Donbass – a vast steppe that is about half the size of England.

The fact that Ukraine has to agree to a compromise is now also accepted in Kiev, “but this compromise has to be fair,” says Zelensky.
He also insists that a future peace treaty should stipulate that Ukraine becomes an EU member.

The EU, for its part, has developed a 10-point plan to help Ukraine advance in its bid to join. Included outlines the steps Kiev needs to take in the coming year to improve the rule of law, further combat corruption and strengthen the judiciary. These are part of the reforms required for EU membership.

“We see Ukraine’s membership in the EU as the political arm of the European security guarantee for Ukraine,” EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said on Thursday at an informal ministerial meeting in Lviv, Ukraine.