During the latest US-mediated negotiations in Geneva on February 17–18, Kyiv and Moscow discussed a joint Russian-Ukrainian civilian administration to run a demilitarized zone in the Donbas, Report informs via The Kyiv Independent.
But Ukrainian officials say the proposal is unrealistic and unacceptable, and the recent round of talks again ended in a stalemate. The plan follows the failure of other stillborn ideas discussed during talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the US.
The concept was first reported by the New York Times on February 18.
The proposal envisions withdrawing both Russian and Ukrainian troops from part of the Donbas in the country's east and establishing a civilian authority to manage the area. It would be potentially staffed by both Ukrainian and Russian representatives.
The Kyiv Independent has learned from a person familiar with the discussions that US negotiators introduced the idea during recent talks as part of efforts to resolve the territorial dispute.
The status of the Donbas remains the most contentious issue between Kyiv and Moscow.
Ukraine maintains that freezing current front-line positions offers the most realistic basis for a ceasefire. Russia continues to demand that Ukrainian forces withdraw from the region as a precondition for any agreement - a demand that Kyiv has repeatedly rejected.
Ukrainian officials say that even the concept of a demilitarized zone in Donetsk Oblast is difficult to imagine, let alone a joint civilian administration involving Russia.
Oleksandr Merezhko, head of parliament's foreign affairs committee, said this would still effectively require Ukrainian troops to withdraw from fortified positions.
"That's the core of the problem. For us, this is unacceptable," he said. "We cannot leave these fortified districts of Donetsk Oblast and essentially hand them over."
Merezhko added that he does not believe the project is workable and warned against drawing comparisons to historical precedents.
"I understand that the Americans think in terms of historical analogies, like the demilitarized zone between North Korea and South Korea," he said.
But the lawmaker noted that the buffer zone on the Korean Peninsula is far shorter than Ukraine's current front line, which stretches hundreds of kilometers.
The idea of establishing a demilitarized zone in the Donbas was initially included in the US-Russian 28-point peace plan. Under that proposal, Kyiv would withdraw its troops from the parts of Donetsk Oblast that it still controls.
Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov previously said that Moscow could agree to such an arrangement if Russian police or National Guard (Rosgvardiya) units were granted the right to patrol the demilitarized zone.
The political logic behind such ideas appears designed to meet the Kremlin's demand for Ukrainian withdrawal while presenting it under different terminology.
"They are trying to disguise the withdrawal," Merezhko said.