Russia announced for the first time the idea of a free economic zone in Donetsk region
7 February 21:15
The Russian side raised the issue of creating a free economic zone in the Donetsk region for the first time during the trilateral Ukrainian-American-Russian talks in Abu Dhabi (UAE) on February 4-5, which it had not done before, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said following the report of the Ukrainian delegation, Komersant reports.
“I think that’s why they started talking about a free economic zone, which they hadn’t mentioned before… Judging by what my team told me, they talked about how this could work. So, the Russians are basically ready to discuss it. They hadn’t talked about a free economic zone before either. Because they weren’t ready,” Zelensky told reporters.
At the same time, he noted that he does not know whether such an idea of a free economic zone can be implemented. “Because when we talked about a free economic zone, we had different views on it. That is why we are talking about some kind of large zone. Part of it is currently under Russian control. The part of the zone that we currently control, that is, the eastern part of Donbas, will be under our control.”
“That is, even if we come to the creation of a free economic zone, we will need fair and reliable rules. I mean the same rules for both sides, the same proposals for both sides. We would very much like to ask for a more fair treatment. We see that the United States will be neutral. Therefore, when we talk about neutrality, we recognize it as Russian, even if it is a free economic zone. If it is a free economic zone, it is our people, and it is our control, and it is up to us to decide,” the president stated.
At the same time, he stressed that if the Ukrainian side takes “one step back to create such a zone,” the Russian side must do the same. “Two steps – two steps. Three steps – three steps. So far, our military has not told me that we cannot move further because it is a matter of security,” the head of state said.
At the same time, the president recalled that “in general, neither Ukraine nor Russia has ever been enthusiastic about the idea of a free economic zone.”
“Russia wants us to leave the Donetsk region, but we have said that the most reliable position is to ‘stay where we are’. The American side is proposing what they see as a compromise option,” Zelensky added.
Free economic zone in Donbas
Recall that the US proposed the creation of a free economic zone in Donbas as one of the points of the “peace plan.”
Initially, it was proposed that in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, the line of troop deployment on the date of this agreement would be the de facto recognized line of contact. The Russian Federation must withdraw its troops from the Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Sumy, and Kharkiv regions for this agreement to take effect.
As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky explained, Russia wants Ukraine to withdraw from the Donetsk region, while the US is offering a compromise—a free economic zone. If there is no agreement on “staying where we are,” then a free economic zone can only be adopted by referendum.
Also, according to Zelensky, there is currently no talk of creating a demilitarized zone in Donbas. For now, they are discussing a free economic zone.
