Zelensky said the question had never been put to Kyiv before. He repeated that Ukraine does not retreat and does not give up its land, Radio Liberty, Meduza and TV Rain reported. The president did not specify which US negotiators made the proposal, Meduza noted.
Zelensky said he could put the matter to a referendum if partners confirm a comprehensive security package together with other NATO members. According to him, the package would have to include concrete guarantees from the alliance and the EU, a strong Ukrainian army, weapons, financial support for a set period and a post-war reconstruction plan. In that case, he said, he would enter into open dialogue with society to learn its opinion.
Zelensky stressed that de jure Ukraine is not ready to recognise the occupied territories as part of Russia. There are no specifics on a possible deal yet and everything is still under discussion, he added.
Handing the entire Donetsk region to Russian control is one of Russia's key demands for ending the fighting. US officials have confirmed this too, noting that the territorial question is the hardest in the peace talks. Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's special representative, said after trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi that territorial issues remain the most difficult, Meduza writes. According to The Economist, US negotiators floated the idea of changing the borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions as part of a territorial deal between Russia and Ukraine. The idea was that Russia could claim full capture of the regions while Ukraine would not have to give up territory. Ukraine rejected the proposal.
Russia has also demanded that Ukraine's neutral status be enshrined in its Constitution. Zelensky said on 14 November that Ukraine does not agree to this. Russian authorities have cited the country's aspiration to join NATO among the reasons for attacking Ukraine.