Putin may agree to withdraw from two oblasts of Ukraine, but will demand its neutrality — Reuters
Russian leader Vladimir Putin is ready to discuss a ceasefire in Ukraine with newly elected US President Donald Trump. At the same time, he will not agree to withdraw from a large part of the captured Ukrainian territory and will demand that Ukraine does not join NATO, reported Reuters with reference to anonymous sources.
According to them, Putin, through the mediation of Trump, may agree to freeze the conflict along the front line, although the Kremlin officially rejected such a possibility.
In addition, some Reuters sources suggest the possibility of negotiations regarding the “precise carve-up” of four oblasts of Ukraine — Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson.
At the same time, with regard to two other regions where Russia holds a small territory, Kharkiv and Mykolaiv, the Russian Federation may be open to the withdrawal of troops from there, according to the publication's sources.
In this way, Putin could present the Russians with a cease-fire agreement, according to which Russia would retain most of Donetsk Oblast, Luhansk Oblast, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and Kherson Oblast, as a victory that ensured "the protection of the Russian-speaking population in eastern Ukraine." At the same time, Russia is not ready to discuss the fate of Crimea in the negotiations.
Reuters’ Russian sources believe that the cease-fire agreement may resemble the draft agreement that was presented during the negotiations in Istanbul in 2022.
However, the conclusion of the agreement may be hindered by the current US President Joe Biden's permission to strike Russia with ATACMS long-range missiles. If a ceasefire is not reached, Russia will continue to fight, Reuters writes.
What does Putin demand?
The Russian leader and his representatives have repeatedly made statements in which Russia is portrayed as ready for negotiations to settle the war in Ukraine, which are not taking place because Kyiv allegedly does not want it.
In fact, Putin demands that Kyiv abandon aspirations to join NATO and international recognition of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson oblasts, and Crimea as Russian territories.
The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said that accepting the Russian leader's terms would make it clear that the territorial integrity of Ukraine is the subject of discussion. And this precedent would give the Kremlin the opportunity to promote further territorial concessions from Ukraine and to challenge the idea of Ukrainian statehood in general.
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba said that Ukraine is ready for the negotiation process with Russia "at a certain stage", when Russia is ready to lead them honestly. Currently, such readiness is not observed on the Russian side, the diplomat noted.