The Kremlin has questioned the feasibility of the American idea of creating a free economic zone in Donbas, saying that the territory is officially part of Russia and therefore unlikely to be governed by a third party, Reuters and TASS reported, quoted by BTA.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukraine sees an opportunity for US mediation to end the war with Russia by the end of next summer and that he has prepared a one-page document with proposals together with American and European representatives to be presented to Moscow. Among them is the idea of a free economic zone.
Ukraine accuses Russia of illegally seizing territories in Donbas. Moscow claims that its actions are dictated by the need to protect its own security.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the possibility of any external governance of Donbas.
“Donbas is a territory of the Russian Federation, a subject of the Russian Federation. It is unlikely that a third party can engage in the governance of a region of the Russian Federation,“ Peskov said at a briefing in response to a question on the subject.