“We are saying: if all regions are included and if we remain where we are, then we will reach an agreement. That is why it says ‘potential zones’ here.
“But if we do not agree to ‘remain where we are’ there are two options: either the war continues, or something will have to be decided regarding all potential economic zones.”
US negotiators are expected to deliver the draft document to Moscow on Christmas Eve for consideration.
If approved by Vladimir Putin, the peace deal will need to be signed by Trump, Zelensky and other European leaders. It could in theory lead to a ceasefire along the current front lines before any withdrawals take place.
The document was revised following weeks of intense talk between Washington, Kyiv and Moscow after an initial 28-point plan was rejected by Ukraine and Europe as a capitulation.
On territorial concessions, the document states that, if it is signed, the front line would be frozen in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia – four oblasts illegally annexed by Russia.
Moscow wants complete control of Donetsk
It adds that both sides have yet “to determine troop movements needed to end the war and set up potential ‘free economic zones,’ with Russia withdrawing its troops from these areas”.
Moscow will be expected to withdraw its troops from the regions of Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Sumy and Kharkiv.
Zelensky’s intervention confirms a story published earlier this month by the Telegraph that the Ukrainian president was considering the creation of a “demilitarised zone” as long as Russia agreed to a “reciprocal” withdrawal.
He has repeatedly argued that, as president, he does not have the powers to cede land to Russia, and said he would not go against the will of Ukrainians to do so.
Loading
Moscow has demanded that Ukraine completely vacates the Donetsk region, including a “fortress belt” of cities that serve as the main bulwark against any future Russian invasion.
Ukrainian forces this week withdrew from the embattled town of Siversk, a move that took Moscow closer to seizing the fortress belt cities of Kostyantynivka, Druzhkivka, Kramatorsk and Slovyansk.
Last week, Putin said Russia would not back down from his mission to “liberate its historic lands” should his maximalist war aims not be delivered through diplomatic negotiations.
Revealing details of the latest peace proposal, Zelensky also warned that differences over the future of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant were yet to be settled.
He said the US was pushing a proposal that would see Washington, Kyiv and Moscow each take a third ownership in Europe’s largest nuclear power station.
Ukraine lodged a counter-proposal under which half the plant’s energy would be sent to territories held by Kyiv while the US would decide where the remainder was sold.
Zelensky said: “We believe that for all of this to take place and function safely, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the city of Enerhodar … must be demilitarised … there are Russian troops and war there, and there is no necessary level of security.”
It is uncertain whether Russia will ultimately agree to the peace deal.
A Russian official described the new proposals as a “fairly typical Ukrainian plan”. They told Bloomberg that the Kremlin would seek to make changes.
The 20-point plan does take into consideration some of Moscow’s demands, such as removing any reference to Nato membership or Ukraine, and a programme of educational and language reforms.
For Ukraine, the document is accompanied by three other documents setting out US security guarantees, European security provisions and a US-Ukraine economic plan described as a “roadmap for Ukraine’s prosperity”.
Any ceasefire would start as soon as the documents were signed by the US, Ukraine and Russia.
For the agreement to take full effect, it would need to be ratified by Ukraine’s parliament or be supported in a nationwide referendum within 60 days of the signature.
