Referendum on Russia peace deal possible, Bohdan says

Presidential Administration Head Andriy Bohdan said
it’s possible a peace agreement reached with Russia could be ratified with a
public referendum. “The final decision – if it will find disagreement in
society, if there will be points that are problematic for some or others – can
be put for a referendum,” he said during a May 21 interview with the 112
Ukraine television network. “Not for some politician to reach a decision, that
divides society, but for the people themselves, for the very society to make a
decision on whether it approves this or another agreement.” In seeking a peace
deal with Russia, the Zelenskiy administration will need to make compromise, he
said, stressing that land and war prisoners won’t be traded.

The Zelenskiy administration should address rumors
about being willing to capitulate before Russia, former President Petro
Poroshenko told journalists the next day, as reported by the pravda.com.ua news
site. “I was unpleasantly surprised by the absolutely strange position on how
we should resolve the so-called ‘peace agreements’ with Russia by means of a
referendum,” he said. “There is apprehension in the country that capitulation
would occur rather than a peace agreement. Today, I will advise the team of the
new president to urgently dispel these rumors.” Bohdan’s statement was either
“a failed ad lib or a deliberate step that severely threatens the sovereignty
and territorial integrity of our state,” he said.

Zenon Zawada: We don’t
think Bohdan misspoke, considering his referendum comment is similar to Zelenskiy’s call in March for a
referendum on Euro-Atlantic integration, which drew wide criticism for its
recklessness. It’s a source of concern that the Zelenskiy team hasn’t learned a
lesson from Brexit, which demonstrated that referenda have the potential to do
more damage than solve problems.

It’s hard to imagine any peace deal in which Russia
returns Crimea to Ukraine. So there’s no threat of a referendum considering we
expect no peace deal with Russia this year, but likely even longer (if
Zelenskiy sticks to his promise not to surrender land to Russia). Zelenskiy
will have to conduct large-scale, pragmatic reforms domestically in order to
have success as president.