Particular interest surrounds leaked information regarding proposals reportedly put forward by Russia both during the trilateral negotiations with the US and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi and during talks held in Moscow between Russian President Vladimir Putin and American negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner concerning the end of the war in Ukraine and the new security architecture in Europe.
A report by the German newspaper Bild claims that Russia allegedly formulated tough demands, as within the framework of a new European security architecture, it asks the Baltic states, namely Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, to abandon hosting NATO military bases on their territory, as well as for Finland to leave NATO and return to its neutral status.
At the same time, Russia demands to be given the entire Donbass and for Ukraine not to join the North Atlantic Alliance.
In exchange, Russia pledges to remove all its nuclear weapons from Belarusian territory and refrain from deploying intermediate-range missiles on Belarusian soil, while intending to withdraw its troops from Transnistria.
In any case, Bild points out that this plan is one of the proposals circulating in various negotiating circles, clarifying that it is neither presented as a final peace agreement nor as a text approved by all sides.
Nevertheless, what is clear and what Russia clarified unambiguously is that there can be no definitive solution to the Ukrainian crisis unless the security architecture in Europe changes first.
After all, Moscow has for many years accused the West of deceiving it, given that it had committed that NATO would not expand eastward.
Give us all of Donbass
According to Bild, regarding Ukraine, Russia demands:
- To retain control of all Ukrainian territories it has already captured.
- To acquire the entire Donbass region, including the sections remaining under Ukrainian control.
- That the cities of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk, which constitute major Ukrainian centers in the Donetsk region, also pass to the Russian side.
- That Ukraine acquire a status of military neutrality and commit not to join NATO.
- Not to rule out, however, Ukraine's future accession to the European Union.
What it demands for Odesa and Mykolaiv
Furthermore, Russia's proposal includes special arrangements for the two major Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea.
Russia reportedly demands the demilitarization of the ports of Odesa and Mykolaiv.
In this way, Ukraine will no longer be able to use them as naval bases.
Agreements for freedom of navigation in the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea are also envisioned.
Consequently, it becomes clear that under this plan, Russia is not asking for the two cities to be ceded to it, rather its demands are limited to the military character of their ports.
The Baltics and Finland outside NATO
The proposal, according to Bild, stipulates that the establishment of NATO military bases will not be permitted in the three Baltic countries.
These are member states of the Alliance, so the arrangement would affect the ability to deploy allied military infrastructure on their territory.
It is not specified whether the ban concerns exclusively permanent bases or also other forms of military presence, such as rotationally deployed forces, air policing missions, and exercises.
Additionally, Finland's withdrawal from NATO and its return to its neutral status, as it stood in April 2023, is demanded.
This is not, in other words, merely a restriction on military bases, but an overturning of a country's very membership in NATO.
What will happen in Moldova, Russian withdrawal from Transnistria
The plan also extends to Moldova, even though the country is not part of the Ukrainian war.
Specifically, it provides for the transformation of Moldova into a federal republic with three constituent entities: the rest of Moldova, autonomous Gagauzia, and breakaway Transnistria.
Moreover, if Moldova joins the European Union, Transnistria and Gagauzia will gain the option to hold referendums on their independence.
The proposal also stipulates that Moldova will remain outside military alliances.
What Russia offers in return
Based on this proposal, Russia reportedly offers in exchange to withdraw its nuclear weapons from Belarus and abandon plans to deploy intermediate-range missiles there, as well as to withdraw Russian military forces from Transnistria.
In return, Moldova will be obligated to remain outside military alliances.
Reports regarding the missile systems make specific mention of the Iskander and Oreshnik.
No withdrawal from Kaliningrad
Of particular interest is also the parameter that no change is envisioned regarding the status of Kaliningrad, the Russian exclave located between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic.
The questions
Bild even notes that Russian negotiating tactics create uncertainty as to which exact proposal Vladimir Putin personally supports.
From this arise three major questions that remain unanswered:
1. Has Vladimir Putin given personal approval to this specific plan, or does it originate from other Russian circles?
2. Has it been submitted as an official document to American negotiators, or has it been presented only in informal contacts?
3. Have European representatives received the full text, or do they know its contents only through briefings?
What the Kremlin officially said
So far, no proposals have been put forward for the withdrawal of existing member states from NATO, including Finland, nor has such an issue been raised in the talks, argued Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
"I am not aware of anything like that. No, no such proposals have been submitted. It is absolutely certain that no such issue was raised," Peskov underscored, answering a question on whether proposals had been made for countries already members of NATO, and specifically Finland, to leave the Alliance.
"The Russian Federation demands that NATO's commitment not to proceed with further enlargement be enshrined in writing," stated Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov.
The next round of talks
Moscow estimates that the next round of trilateral negotiations between the delegations of Russia, the US, and Ukraine, aimed at settling the Ukrainian conflict, will take place soon.
"We estimate that it will take place fairly soon, in the foreseeable future. This is precisely what we discussed with our American negotiators, and therefore we hope that the talks will indeed continue in the immediate future," the Kremlin spokesperson added.
The message
The meeting between President Vladimir Putin and US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow lasted more than two hours.
The entire world literally held its breath, as at that moment inside the Kremlin, the fate of the entire planet was essentially being discussed.
The Russian leadership had repeatedly warned the West that each new proposal of its own for the Ukrainian crisis would be increasingly unfavorable for them.
Moscow is capable of showing flexibility, but when all its initiatives are met with brazen aggression, patience runs out.
And its own Russian "Not one step back!" begins.
No temporary truce
The most important message of the meeting at the Kremlin was articulated from the very first minutes.
"For us, there is only one line of demarcation," President Putin stated. "That is the state borders. Because then it will be clear: here are you and here are we."
This statement put an end once and for all to all efforts promoting the idea of halting hostilities along the line of contact, something the Europeans persistently demanded for the benefit of the Ukrainian armed forces.
Their plan has been exposed: all these temporary truces and ceasefire agreements are needed by them exclusively to regroup and reinforce the decimated Ukrainian army.
The proposal for Kostiantynivka
However, disagreements between the sides are by no means limited to the territorial issue.
The Russian president reminded that for Russia, what matters most is not territory, but people: their ability to live where they wish and in the manner they wish.
For this reason, he proposed extending to Kostiantynivka a humanitarian initiative analogous to the one carried out in Oleshky.
First, such a mission will help evacuate people living there under horrific conditions.
Second, it will prove to the entire world which army truly controls Kostiantynivka.
Eternal peace
Putin reaffirmed his commitment to the idea of a lasting peace in Ukraine.
"I would like this peace to be eternal," he admitted.
At the same time, however, he drew his interlocutors' attention to Europe's inconsistent policy on this specific issue.
Initially, the Europeans state that they desire peace, and subsequently announce that they will deploy their troops onto Ukrainian territory immediately after a ceasefire.
For the Russians, however, those troops constitute a legitimate military target, meaning the war will inevitably resume.
Positions known since 2021
In this round of negotiations on the Ukrainian crisis, Russia reaffirmed once again that its primary goal is shaping a collective European security architecture.
Our demands in this field are widely known.
They had already been articulated since 2021, yet the West ignored them back then.
Now the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated them, proposing three options to the Europeans: either jointly draft a collective security treaty that includes Russia, or each European country conclude a separate non-aggression pact with Russia, or, alternatively, a mutual assistance agreement.
Europe's "hawks" at a dead end
The paradox is that aggressive policy has led Europe's "hawks" into a dead end.
They can neither defeat Russia nor reach an understanding with it peacefully.
And it is not merely that they are unable to reach an understanding: they are not even capable of choosing their own negotiator.
Nevertheless, they try by every means to secure participation in the negotiations.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told them "to go sit in the hotel," while the head of Russia's delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, referred them to the bar.
They, however, remain unmoved, no matter what anyone tells them.
Humiliation...
In reality, Kushner and Witkoff visited the Kremlin precisely to mediate on behalf of the Europeans: some way, they say, must be found for them to participate in the negotiations as well, so that the security architecture can be discussed jointly.
However, this humiliating situation, in which Europe's fate is being decided without its participation, was created by the reckless European elites with their own hands.
Talleyrand and Metternich, watching their efforts, would surely be turning in their graves.
What do the Europeans want?
Vladimir Putin advised Trump's special envoys to suggest to the American government "to work with its European allies so that they decide what they want: peace or war."
In Moscow, they observe that while the American president sincerely seeks peace, the Europeans are undermining this prospect and preparing for war.
From Russia, Witkoff and Kushner departed by air for Dublin to convey the Kremlin's position to the European "hawks" and to Volodymyr Zelensky.
There, they were awaited with gloom and anxiety: the Russian army continues to advance, while Moscow pushes its demands forward with consistency and relentless determination.
After all, Putin had warned...
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