Withdrawal from Donbas will not guarantee peace for Ukraine, and Russia could use the pause to resume the war later. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in an interview with Danish public broadcaster DR.
“No one believes that Putin will stop if we leave Donbas. He will take a pause and then return in one, two or five years,” Zelensky said.
According to him, handing over Ukrainian territory in exchange for peace is an “abstract formulation” if it is not accompanied by clear and reliable security guarantees. He said the American side had raised the question of whether Ukraine could “trade Donbas for security”.
Zelensky asked for clarification on what these guarantees would mean and whether they would be comparable to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. According to him, the response was that this would be a mechanism similar to NATO guarantees, but not membership in the alliance.
Kyiv proposes a ceasefire first
The Ukrainian president said his country already had negative experience with international guarantees. He recalled that Ukraine had given up its nuclear weapons but subsequently did not receive NATO membership and became the target of Russian aggression.
Zelensky identified maintaining the current positions, declaring a ceasefire and moving to diplomatic negotiations as the fastest way to halt active hostilities. “We stop where we are, declare a ceasefire and move to the diplomatic track,” he said.
After that, according to him, a number of issues would have to be discussed: the line of contact, the mandate of a monitoring mission, possible demilitarized zones, the participation of European countries and the reconstruction of Ukraine. Zelensky warned that the negotiations themselves could last for months or longer, but a truce would bring the active phase of the war to an end.
The territorial issue remains the main obstacle
The statement came against the backdrop of a new round of talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States in Abu Dhabi. The meetings are scheduled for November 10 and 11 and are part of American efforts to reach an agreement.
Russia is insisting that Kyiv withdraw from the remaining areas of Donbas that Ukrainian forces still control. Ukraine rejects the voluntary surrender of territories and insists that any future agreement must include real guarantees to deter a new Russian attack.
Zelensky said that if Moscow insists that a broad package of complex political and territorial issues be agreed first, and only then the shooting be stopped, this shows an unwillingness to quickly end the war.
Sources: glavnoe.in.ua, apnews.com