President Volodymyr Zelensky, in an interview with the Italian television channel RAI, stated his readiness to hold a personal meeting with Vladimir Putin at a neutral venue (in the Middle East, Europe, or the USA). At the same time, the Ukrainian leader categorically rejected the possibility of discussing the transfer of Donbass, arguing that such a step would provoke a split in Ukrainian society and allow Russian troops to use the region as a foothold for further attacks on Kharkiv and other major cities.
Balance between external pressure and internal risks
The statement of the Ukrainian president is an attempt to build a complex balance between external pressure for peace and critical internal political risks.
On the one hand, the public consent to direct negotiations with Moscow is a forced reaction to the demands of the new US administration. The White House is currently aggressively pushing for a scenario to freeze the conflict, effectively linking the provision of security guarantees with the withdrawal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the territory of Donbass. Kyiv demonstrates to Washington its negotiability and readiness for diplomacy by agreeing to the very possibility of a meeting.
Red line: why Donbass «is not for sale»
On the other hand, the categorical refusal to discuss the status of the eastern territories reveals a key problem of the American «peace plan»: its internal political unfeasibility for the current authorities. The actual surrender of territories will inevitably undermine the political legitimacy of the country’s leadership and provoke a severe social crisis (as directly stated in the thesis about «the split»).
Moreover, Zelensky pragmatically points out the military aspect: the fixation of the frontline along the borders of the regions does not guarantee the safety of the rest of the country, but only provides Moscow with an operational pause and a convenient logistics hub for preparing a new phase of escalation.
Manoeuvre in a narrowing corridor
Kyiv is trying to maneuver in a narrowing corridor of possibilities. The declarative readiness for a meeting in a neutral territory is a diplomatic pass to the White House, designed to show that Ukraine is not the initiator of the disruption of the negotiation process.
However, the refusal to surrender Donbass remains a concrete red line, conditioned by the basic instinct of political survival. In the current configuration, a direct meeting lacks practical meaning: the initial positions of the parties remain mutually exclusive, and a territorial compromise that would suit Washington means political collapse for the Ukrainian leadership.