Russia is reportedly entering the peace negotiations with maximalist demands that appear barely acceptable to the West. This is according to "Bild" and the "New York Times", even though US President Donald Trump has said he wants to end the war in Ukraine. The demands of the Kremlin under Vladimir Putin go far beyond Ukraine and aim at far-reaching changes to NATO.

Moscow is reportedly demanding that there be no further accessions and that there be no more NATO bases in the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Russian negotiators in Abu Dhabi are also said to have demanded that NATO withdraw its troops and bases across Eastern Europe to their 1997 levels. Such a withdrawal would considerably weaken deterrence on the eastern flank.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the US side had for the first time raised the question of whether Ukraine would give up the Donbas and withdraw its forces from the region in return for NATO membership. Zelensky stressed that Ukraine was not prepared to simply give up its territory and is demanding reliable security guarantees.

Key points:

• Vladimir Putin is reportedly making maximalist demands in the peace negotiations.
• These demands appear barely acceptable to the West.
• Russia is insisting on massive changes to NATO.

Source: Berlin Live (German)