Zelenskiy says Ukrainians will reject ceding territories in referendum: “Emotionally, people will never understand. They will never forgive me”
The Ukrainian people will reject a peace deal that involves Ukraine unilaterally withdrawing from the eastern Donbas region and handing it over to Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in an interview with Axios on Tuesday.
As Zelenskiy spoke to Axios, Ukrainian and Russian negotiators were in Geneva for the third round of direct talks. The main sticking point is control of Donbas, about 10% of which is still under Ukrainian control.
Zelenskiy said U.S. mediators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner conveyed to him that Russia really wanted to end the war and that it should coordinate its position with its own negotiating team on that premise before the talks.
However, the Ukrainian president made it clear that he is much more skeptical. He warned Witkoff and Kushner not to try to force him to promote a vision of peace that his own citizens would consider “a failed story.”
Zelensky: “It's not right” that the pressure should be placed only on Ukraine
Zelenskiy said it was “not right” for President Donald Trump to publicly ask Ukraine, and not Russia, to make concessions for peace.
He argued that while it may be easier for Trump to put pressure on Ukraine than on Russia, which is much larger, lasting peace is not built by “giving victory” to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump has said twice in recent days that responsibility for the concessions lies with Zelenskiy. “I hope it's just a tactic and not a decision,” the Ukrainian leader told Axios.
Zelenski also thanked Trump for his mediation efforts and said his talks with Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff did not involve the kind of pressure that Trump is exerting in public. “We respect each other,” he said, adding that he is “not a person” who buckles easily under pressure.
The Kiev leader reiterated that the best way to achieve progress on the territorial issue is for Vladimir Putin to meet him face-to-face. He said he had asked members of his team to discuss holding a future leaders' meeting in Geneva.
American mediators have proposed that Ukrainian forces withdraw from the areas of Donbas they currently control and that the territory become a demilitarized “free economic zone.” Washington has not taken a position on which state would hold sovereignty over this area.
Zelenskiy is willing to discuss a troop withdrawal, but has demanded that Moscow withdraw its forces by an equivalent distance and rejected Russia's claim to sovereignty over the area.
The Ukrainian president said that at the second round of negotiations, Russian officials promised to consult the leadership in Moscow and come back with a detailed position on the territorial issue.
Referendum for any peace agreement
In the 37-minute phone interview with Axios, Zelenskiy stressed that Washington and Kiev agreed that any deal would be subject to a referendum in Ukraine.
If the deal were to involve the Ukrainian side simply withdrawing from Donbas, giving up sovereignty and citizenship to the people who live there, he believes it would be voted down.
“Emotionally, people will never forgive this. Never. They won't forgive me, they won't forgive (the Americans, no),” Zelenskiy said, adding that Ukrainians “can't understand why” they would be asked to give up even more territory.
“This is part of our country, all these citizens, the flag, the land,” Zelenskiy said.
If the agreement will freeze the current front lines in Donbas, as is the plan in two other regions where Russia controls territories, Zelensky believes that the population of Ukraine will accept this solution.
“I think if we put in the document (…) that we stay where we are on the contact line, people will support that in the referendum. That's my opinion.”
Russia, however, insists that it will take over the entire Donbas, either through negotiations or by force.
Finding a formula that both sides can accept is the main focus of Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in this week's talks.
