Russia has presented the United States with a list of demands for an agreement to end the war in Ukraine and restore relations with Washington, sources told „Reuters“. It is not clear what exactly Moscow has included in the list and whether it is ready to start peace talks with Kiev before accepting them. Russian and US officials have discussed the terms in person and virtually over the past three weeks, sources told „Reuters“.
They described the Kremlin's terms as wide-ranging and similar to demands the Kremlin has previously presented to Ukraine, the United States and NATO.
Moscow declined to comment to „Reuters“ claiming that it has already presented its list of demands.
The conditions so far have included Kiev's refusal to join NATO, an agreement not to station foreign troops in Ukraine and international recognition of President Vladimir Putin's claim that Crimea and four provinces belong to Russia.
Meanwhile, US negotiators who are to present Donald Trump's proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine to the Kremlin are on their way to Russia.
“The negotiators are arriving by plane and contacts are planned“, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
He added that US National Security Adviser Mike Walz and one of Vladimir Putin's key foreign policy advisers, Yuri Ushakov, had a telephone conversation on March 12.
In recent years, Russia has also demanded that the US and NATO deal with what it calls "root causes" of the war, including NATO's eastward expansion.
US President Donald Trump is expecting Putin to say whether he will agree to a 30-day ceasefire, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 11 he would accept as a first step toward peace talks.
Some US officials, lawmakers and experts fear that Putin will use the ceasefire to reinforce what they see as an attempt to divide the US, Ukraine and Europe, and to undermine any future negotiations.
In Kiev, Zelensky welcomed a meeting this week in Saudi Arabia between US and Ukrainian officials as constructive. He also said that a potential 30-day ceasefire with Russia could be used to work out a broader peace agreement.