Key Points – Russia’s conditions for a peace settlement in Ukraine reportedly include a written Western commitment to halt NATO’s eastward enlargement, guarantees of Ukrainian neutrality, significant sanctions relief, and the unfreezing of Russian sovereign assets.
-Kremlin-linked sources also indicate President Putin now insists on full Russian control over four Ukrainian regions—Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson—in addition to Crimea.
-These demands come amid stalled peace talks, despite President Trump’s recent efforts and subsequent criticism of Putin for escalating attacks.
-Any deal forcing Ukraine to cede territory and abandon NATO aspirations would be deeply contentious for Kyiv and its Western allies.
Putin’s Peace Demands Include End to NATO Enlargement
Russian President Vladimir Putin is reportedly demanding a halt to NATO’s eastward expansion and significant sanctions relief as part of any future peace settlement in Ukraine, according to three Kremlin-linked sources exclusively cited by Reuters. The conditions include a written commitment from the West to freeze NATO enlargement, and guarantees of neutrality from Kyiv.
Peace Efforts Remain Unclear
The latest disclosures come amid stalled peace efforts and growing frustration from U.S. President Donald Trump, who warned earlier this week that Putin was “playing with fire” by refusing to engage seriously with ceasefire proposals.
Last week’s hours-long phone conversation between the pair of world leaders reportedly prompted Putin to agree to creating a memorandum on his terms for a peace agreement. Still, no memorandum has been announced, and no timeline for its completion has been given.
Russia tells Trump: Lift Sanctions and Tame NATO
Aside from its concerns over NATO, Russia is also demanding the lifting of major Western sanctions, legal protections for ethnic Russians in Ukraine and the unfreezing of Russian sovereign assets. “Putin is ready to make peace, but not at any price,” one top Russian source told Reuters. Another added that the Russian president has become more intransigent, now insisting on full control of four Ukrainian regions: Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. Then there is Crimea, which was annexed in 2014, meaning that Russian troops currently control almost a fifth of Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is yet to publicly respond to the news, although Kyiv would be expected to reject any attempt to scrap its NATO aspirations, as it always has in the past. NATO has historically maintained an ‘open door’ policy, regardless of Russia’s preferences.
West Accused of Betraying Promise to Gorbachev
Putin’s concerns over NATO expansion into areas once part of the Soviet and Russian imperial sphere are longstanding. In 2021 Moscow even published a draft agreement to bar future NATO enlargement, including into Ukraine. Russian officials also complain that Cold War era Western leaders told one-time Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that NATO would not expand into the crumbling Eastern Bloc. No such assurances were ever formalized.
While Trump has previously blamed the push for Ukrainian NATO membership for triggering the war, his administration now appears increasingly impatient with Putin’s unwillingness to compromise.
Trump recently threatened additional sanctions and accused the Russian leader of escalating the conflict with a massive aerial assault on Ukraine.
Whether these diplomatic theatrics indicate a genuine desire for peace or simply serve as cover for continued military aggression remains unclear.
What is certain is that any agreement requiring Ukraine to forfeit its security ambitions and cede occupied territory will be deeply contentious, and could fracture Western unity more than Putin’s battlefield gains ever could.
About the Author:
Georgia Gilholy is a journalist based in the United Kingdom who has been published in Newsweek, The Times of Israel, and the Spectator. Gilholy writes about international politics, culture, and education.
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