Reuters learns Putin's key demands in exchange for ending the war
In exchange for ending the war against Ukraine, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin wants written guarantees that NATO will not expand and some sanctions will be lifted, Reuters reported, citing three Russian sources familiar with the talks.
It is reported that after more than two hours of conversation with US President Donald Trump last week, Putin agreed to work on a ceasefire memorandum. However, Russia is currently working on its own version of the agreement and cannot estimate how long it will take.
"Putin is ready for peace, but not at any price," said one senior official.
The Russian dictator demands that Western powers formally commit to preventing Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and other former Soviet republics from joining NATO.
Putin also wants Ukraine to be neutral and some Western sanctions to be lifted. He also wants to resolve the issue of frozen Russian assets in the West and protect Russian-speaking citizens in Ukraine, officials said.
One of the news agency's interlocutors noted that if Putin realizes that he will not reach a peace agreement on his own terms, he will try to show Ukrainians and Europeans that "peace tomorrow will be even more painful."
- On May 16, after the talks in Istanbul, Foreign Ministry spokesman Tykhyi reported that the Russian delegation had said things unacceptable to Ukraine during the talks . However, he did not specify what exactly the occupiers had said.
- Western media, citing Ukrainian diplomatic sources, wrote about another unrealistic demand from the Russian Federation: in particular, Moscow wanted Ukraine to withdraw its troops from its own territories . These are parts of the Kherson, Zaporizhia, Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which the aggressor country illegally included in its constitution.
- On May 18, Zelensky informed US Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Rubio about the unrealistic conditions for establishing a ceasefire that Russia put forward in Istanbul .
