Russia intends to use the new round of peace talks on Ukraine to secure concessions that could weaken NATO’s defenses. Yuri Ushakov, the Kremlin’s foreign policy adviser, stated that European countries should join the talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the United States, emphasizing the importance of their role in reaching a peace agreement.
Diplomatic sources reported that Russia is seeking to involve European countries in the talks in order to secure concessions regarding NATO expansion, which Vladimir Putin considers one of the main causes of the war. The Kremlin had previously suggested that Putin might be willing to compromise if other countries agreed to meet his demands, specifically to limit Ukraine’s sovereignty.
Among Russia’s demands is also a reduction of NATO’s presence in Europe to 1997 levels, which could lead to the withdrawal of Alliance troops from Poland, the Baltic states, and Finland. These countries share a border with Russia, underscoring the importance of their participation in the negotiations.
Last week, Russia agreed to resume trilateral technical talks with Ukraine and the United States, which are scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi next month. However, Ushakov noted that he does not expect significant progress from this meeting, calling it a “trial run.”
Previous negotiations failed to yield results due to Putin’s demands that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agree to cede part of the Donbas. Moscow believes that Donald Trump had previously agreed to such concessions on Ukraine’s behalf, but that approach has not worked so far.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine is ready for peace talks but does not recognize the occupied territories as Russian and will not agree to cede additional land. He emphasized that the demand to give up 25% of Ukraine’s territory is unacceptable.
