Russia has presented the USA with a list of requirements for an agreement on ending the war against Ukraine and resetting relations with Washington, two interlocutors familiar with the matter told Reuters.
As the agency points out, it is still unclear what exactly Moscow has included in its list and whether it is ready to hold peace talks with Kiev before they are accepted. According to the interlocutors, Russian and U.S. officials have discussed the terms during face-to-face and virtual conversations over the past three weeks.
Reuters’ sources described the Kremlin’s conditions as broad and similar to demands it has previously made to Ukraine, the United States and NATO.
It is noted that these preconditions included rejecting Kiev’s NATO membership, agreeing not to deploy foreign troops to Ukraine and international recognition of President Vladimir Putin’s claim that Crimea and four regions belong to Russia.
In recent years, Russia has also demanded that the U.S. and NATO address what it calls the “root causes” of the war, including NATO’s eastward expansion. The Russian Embassy in Washington and the White House did not respond to a request for comment.
On 11 March, delegations of Ukraine and the United States met in Saudi Arabia.
During the talks, Ukraine agreed with the proposal of the US side to impose a 30-day ceasefire in the war with Russia. The delegations also discussed the importance of humanitarian efforts as part of the peace process, particularly during the ceasefire, including the exchange of prisoners of war, the release of held civilians and the return of forcibly displaced Ukrainian children.
US President Donald Trump said US and Russian representatives would meet later to discuss the ceasefire.
Trump is awaiting Putin’s response on whether he will agree to a 30-day ceasefire. Putin’s commitment to a potential ceasefire agreement is still uncertain as details have not yet been finalised.
The Kremlin said it was studying statements made after the Ukrainian and US delegations met in Jeddah.
Analysts at the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said that Russian President Vladimir Putin may resort to manipulation because of the ceasefire proposals agreed to by Ukraine. The Bloomberg news agency reported on 12 March that sources familiar with the Kremlin’s views and the situation said that Putin would “stretch the timetable” of the temporary ceasefire agreements to ensure that its terms “are taken into account”.