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Zelensky: Ukraine will not recognize Donbas as Russian

2025-12-16 13:44:58, Kosova & Bota CNA

Russian officials have reacted coolly to progress in negotiations between the United States and Europe to end Moscow's war in Ukraine, as the US reportedly provided NATO-style security guarantees to Kiev.

A day after envoys concluded two days of talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on December 16 that Moscow had not seen the proposals discussed in Berlin or details of the US security offer.

Preventing Ukraine from joining NATO has been Moscow's main demand since before the war began. It is unclear whether security guarantees, such as those from NATO, will be opposed by the Kremlin.

Peskov said Russia does not want a ceasefire - Zelensky has called for one over Christmas - but rather a final peace agreement that would end the war, which is approaching its fourth anniversary.

"We want peace. We don't want a ceasefire to give Ukraine breathing space and prepare for the continuation of the war," Peskov told reporters. "We want this war to stop, to achieve all our goals, to secure our interests and to guarantee peace in Europe in the future. This is what we want."

In an interview with ABC News on December 15, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that an agreement appeared to be close. However, he did not signal any change in Russia's position on territorial issues and security requirements.

This includes Russia's demand that four Ukrainian regions that are partially occupied by Russian troops – Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson – be recognized as Russian territory. The Crimean peninsula was annexed by Russia in 2014, a claim that has been rejected by almost all countries in the world.

"Currently, there are four constituent entities that are an integral part of the Russian Federation. I'm not talking about Crimea," he was quoted as saying. "So, together we have five constituent entities and there can be absolutely no compromise on them."

The talks in Berlin have raised hopes for a diplomatic end to the Russian war, which has killed or wounded more than 1.5 million people on both sides, devastated large parts of Ukraine and turned Russia into an internationally isolated state.

US envoys who participated in the talks offered security guarantees for Kiev similar to those from NATO, officials said.

Zelensky told reporters that US security guarantees should be legally binding and approved by Congress. He also said they should include provisions that reflect NATO's Article 5.

Article 5 is a central element of NATO's structure, stating that an attack against one member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members.

Zelensky reiterated that Ukraine "neither de jure nor de facto" will recognize as Russian the part of Donbas occupied by Russian forces.

"However, we are discussing the issue of territories. You know that this is one of the main issues. We still do not have a consensus on this issue," he stressed.

Security guarantees, similar to those from NATO, are a key demand for Ukrainian officials, who say that without them, a peace deal would pave the way for a new invasion by Russia in the future. Ukrainian officials have also recalled the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which was a security guarantee backed by Washington and Moscow.

That agreement prohibited Russia, the US and the UK from threatening or using military force or economic coercion against Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan, "except in case of self-defense or otherwise in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations."

In exchange, these three countries, which emerged from the former Soviet Union, gave up their Soviet-era nuclear arsenals.

Speaking at the White House after speaking by phone with the leaders who were attending a dinner in Berlin, Trump said he thought the negotiators were "closer than ever before."