https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/european-intelligence-receives-document-with-1741828773.html
European intelligence receives document with hard-line Russian negotiation stance – TWP
THU, MARCH 13, 2025 - 03:20
UAENRU
Illustrative photo: Vladimir Putin, Russian president (kremlin.ru)
AUTHOR:
OLEH VELHAN
European intelligence received a document outlining Russia's maximalist demands and hard-line negotiating stance regarding a potential end to the war against Ukraine. The document was prepared for the Kremlin by a Moscow-based analytical center closely linked to the FSB in February, according to
The Washington Post.
According to The Washington Post, the editorial team reviewed the document, which "highlights the challenges" that President Donald Trump faces "in reaching any agreement with Russia for a peace deal, now that Kyiv has endorsed Washington’s proposal for a 30-day ceasefire."
It is also noted that while Russia has not yet signaled that it will sign any ceasefire, analysts warned that Moscow "still had a multitude of ways it could drag out agreeing to even a temporary pause in hostilities."
The document was prepared by the analytical center a week before the negotiations between delegations from Washington and Moscow in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) on February 18.
According to the document, Russia should work to weaken the U.S. negotiating position on Ukraine by stoking tensions between the Trump administration and other countries while pushing ahead with Moscow’s efforts to dismantle the Ukrainian state
The document prepared for the Kremlin also rejects Trump’s previous plans for a peace deal within 100 days as “impossible to realize” and says that “a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine crisis cannot happen before 2026.”
The document also rejects any plans to send Western peacekeepers to Ukraine, as proposed by some European leaders.
Moreover, among the maximalist demands of the Kremlin, it insists on "recognition of Russia’s sovereignty over the Ukrainian territories."
The document also calls for further division of Ukraine’s territory by creating a "buffer zone" in Ukraine’s northeast on the border with Russian regions such as Bryansk and Belgorod, as well as a demilitarized zone in southern Ukraine near Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014. The latter would affect the Odessa region.
Furthermore, the document stresses the need for the “complete dismantling” of the current Ukrainian government.
The document outlines ways in which Russia could strengthen its position in the negotiations by exacerbating tensions between the US, China, and the European Union, and by offering the US access to valuable resources, including those in the occupied territories of Ukraine, where it is claimed there are rare earth metal deposits.
As The Washington Post recalls, in an interview on February 24, Vladimir Putin said something similar when he suggested that Moscow might invite American companies to develop “Russian” mineral deposits, including those in the occupied territories of Ukraine.
“This seemed like an attempt to undermine the proposed agreement on the development of mineral resources between Ukraine and the United States,” writes the American newspaper.
The document says Russia’s efforts should first be focused on normalizing relations between Washington and Moscow, through the restoration of full diplomatic staffing levels at both countries’ embassies and the appointment of Alexander Darchiev as Russia’s ambassador to the United States.
The document also proposed that Russia agree not to deploy its medium-range Iskander missiles in Belarus, in exchange for the US agreeing not to deploy new missile systems on the European continent.
Additionally, it suggested that Russia should stop supplying weapons to countries considered “unfriendly” to the United States, while the US would stop providing arms to Ukraine. However, the document adds that halting Russian weapon supplies to Moscow’s allies would be “difficult to realize.”
The document rejects any potential political concessions from the official Kyiv, such as Ukraine renouncing NATO membership, and holding elections in which pro-Russian parties would be allowed to participate.
Moreover, the document also rejects attempts to pressure Russia into a peace agreement through the partial lifting of sanctions, arguing that the “the importance of the factor of sanctions against our country has been exaggerated.”
Ukraine-Russia Ceasefire
Earlier, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed
potential first steps toward achieving peace. Specifically, he proposed implementing a ceasefire regime in the air and at sea.
On March 11, during a meeting in Saudi Arabia,
the American side proposed a ceasefire across all territories, which Ukraine agreed to.
Now, the focus is on how Russia will respond to the ceasefire. Earlier, US Secretary of State stated that the
US would contact Russia regarding this issue on March 12.
Following this,
Trump announced that his delegation would travel to Russia to discuss a 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine.
Additionally,
Zelenskyy explained why Ukraine agreed to the idea of 30 days of peace.
Earlier, Russia has been cautious in its response to the proposal for a temporary ceasefire, which was agreed upon during the Ukraine-US negotiations. At the same time, there are suggestions that Putin is unlikely to agree to a ceasefire without "security guarantees."
Russia considers US and Ukraine statements on Jeddah talks as public rhetoric, Moscow is not guided by them.
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