It is in the heat of Florida that almost everything can be decided. The United States is happy with the progress and Russia admits acceding to Ukraine’s requests, but there are things to be resolved
A definitive plan to end the war. The president of Ukraine knows it is difficult, but he is confident that this can be achieved within two days, when he visits Donald Trump’s residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, this Sunday.
There, where Christmas takes place in a much warmer climate than the freezing winters of Kiev or Washington, the president of the United States will receive a Ukrainian counterpart willing to make concessions, but he also has demands, some of which are difficult for Russia to overcome.
After realizing that he will have to make concessions to end the war, Volodymyr Zelensky increasingly talks about the need for a referendum. The president of Ukraine admits losing Donbass and agrees with other points of the United States’ plan, but does not want to bear the burden of this apparent defeat alone.
In this scenario, the possibility of a referendum is increasingly real. In exclusive statements to Axios, the president of Ukraine admitted consulting the population about a solution to reach peace, but highlighted that there are things that have to happen for this to happen.
And it is one of Kiev’s demands that still divides the two sides. Volodymyr Zelensky wants a fair and transparent referendum, but understands that this cannot happen in a war scenario, as people may not feel safe leaving their homes and going to vote, especially when Russia knows that this is happening.
Thus, the president of Ukraine goes to Florida to say that holding a referendum is conditional on a 60-day ceasefire, the period that Kiev understands to be the minimum necessary to prepare everything in a position to listen to the millions of inhabitants who have a vote on the matter.
And the discord starts right there. Russia is open to a ceasefire, but wants a much shorter time frame. Also according to Axios, a North American official said that Moscow understands the need for a ceasefire in the event of a referendum, but does not agree with the 60 days requested by Ukraine.
“It is better not to have a referendum than a referendum where people are not able to come and vote”, he stressed.
Even if some progress has been made – Volodymyr Zelensky admits this in his statements to Axios -, the plan on the table still consists of “painful territorial concessions” to Russia.
For this reason, the president of Ukraine still hopes to be able to improve the peace plan, hoping to be able to play with the admission of the referendum, which the United States saw as something very positive.
“I have some information, but at this moment I just want to believe the leaders’ words”, reiterated Volodymyr Zelensky, remembering the political, logistical and security complexity of holding a referendum in a war context.
At the moment, this and other matters are all covered by five codified documents, which are known to very few people in the US and Ukrainian delegations. Perhaps there will be a sixth document, admitted Volodymyr Zelensky.
“I think we are ready with these documents”, added the president of Ukraine, to talk about security guarantees, in which there are still “technical issues” to be resolved.
Among these issues is the duration of the agreement, which the United States wants to extend for 15 years and can be renewed. “I think we need more than 15 years”, stressed Volodymyr Zelensky, admitting that it will be a “great success” if Donald Trump agrees to this during their meeting.
In any case, whatever these security guarantees are, both parties have already agreed that they will have to be subject to legislative ratification. The same is said that the United States Congress and the Ukrainian Parliament will have to approve the measures.
