Ukraine rules out territorial concessions as US floats new Donbas proposal, Telegraph reports
US negotiators have floated a new proposal aimed at resolving the territorial dispute over Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, but a Ukrainian official close to the peace talks said Kyiv would not recognize Russian control over occupied territory, The Telegraph reported.
According to the newspaper, envoys representing US President Donald Trump proposed an arrangement intended to allow Russia to claim full control of Donbas without requiring Ukraine to surrender the cities it still holds there.
The proposal emerged during US-mediated peace talks in Abu Dhabi, where Ukrainian and Russian delegations resumed negotiations on November 10 after a nine-month pause.
A Ukrainian source close to the talks rejected the prospect of recognizing Russian territorial gains.
"Ukraine's delegation has never discussed any concessions regarding any territories occupied by Russia," the source told The Telegraph.
"Ukraine will never recognize this, either de facto or de jure. And that has always been our position at the negotiating table."
The Economist previously reported that US officials had suggested redrawing the administrative boundaries of Ukrainian regions so Russia could declare that it had captured all of Donbas while Ukraine retained control of the territory it currently holds.
Neither report establishes that Kyiv has accepted such an arrangement.
European role in the negotiations
With little room for progress on territorial questions, US negotiators turned their attention to postwar security guarantees intended to prevent renewed fighting after a potential ceasefire, according to The Telegraph.
Before the trilateral talks, Ukrainian and American officials met separately with European representatives, including UK National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell.
Jared Kushner, one of Trump's envoys, reportedly said he hoped to persuade Russia to allow European officials to participate directly in the negotiations.
However, the European representatives left before the Russian delegation entered after Moscow objected to their presence.
European officials have insisted that any settlement in Ukraine must address the continent's wider security concerns.
"There can be no lasting settlement in Ukraine without taking European security into account, nor can there be any agreement on security in Europe without the Europeans," a French official said ahead of the talks, according to the report.
European representatives have also warned that any Russian demand for NATO to reduce its military presence or weapons deployments would face opposition, although they have indicated a willingness to discuss restoring communication channels with Moscow.
No agreement on territorial issues or postwar security arrangements has been announced.
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