Media: Ukraine Rejects US Offer For Talks

Negotiations have stalled.

The creation of a demilitarized economic zone in Donbass is an unrealistic idea, especially in the format of a joint Ukrainian-Russian administration. This is what the Kyiv Independent writes with reference to Ukrainian officials and analysts.

The publication recalls that during the last round of talks in Geneva on February 17-18, Kiev and Moscow discussed the possibility of creating a joint Russian-Ukrainian civil administration to manage the demilitarized zone in Donbas. The proposal envisioned the withdrawal of both Russian and Ukrainian troops from the region.

An informed source told the Kyiv Independent that the initiative was put forward by representatives of the U.S. delegation, who continue to seek to maintain the role of a neutral mediator. However, Ukrainian officials interviewed by journalists said they could not imagine even the demilitarized zone in Donbass itself, let alone a joint administration.

Ukrainian MP Alexander Merezhko, who heads the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee, said such a scenario would effectively mean the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops.

"This is the crux of the problem. This is unacceptable for us. We cannot leave these fortified areas of Donetsk region and actually give them up," he stressed.

In Merezhko's opinion, the US side is probably oriented towards the model of the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. However, as the MP noted, the buffer zone on the Korean Peninsula is much shorter than the current front line in Ukraine.

He also believes that the logic of such a proposal is an attempt to somehow satisfy the Kremlin's demands, albeit in a veiled form.

As a result, since Ukraine rejects any options that could mean giving up control over Donbas, the negotiation process has reached an impasse, the Kyiv Independent wrote.

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