Russia demands NATO retreat to 1997 positions in Ukraine peace talks - NYT
Russia has revived its demands for NATO to withdraw troops and military bases from Eastern Europe, halt military assistance to Ukraine and restrict European nuclear deterrence as part of negotiations to end its war against Ukraine, according to a Russian document obtained by The New York Times.
The document, dated November 10 and circulated during talks in Abu Dhabi, largely repeats demands Moscow made in December 2021, two months before launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The NYT obtained the document from a person involved in the negotiations, and a second person familiar with the talks confirmed its authenticity. It has no official letterhead or signature and represents Russia's opening negotiating position rather than a formal agreement.
What Russia wants
Moscow is demanding that NATO withdraw its troops and military bases to the alliance's 1997 positions, before its expansion into Central and Eastern Europe. Such a move would weaken the defenses of countries including Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which joined NATO after 1997.
Russia also wants NATO members to rule out further enlargement and any military activity in Ukraine, Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus and Central Asia.
The document calls for an end to all Western deliveries of weapons and military equipment to Ukraine. Moscow would accept Ukraine's membership in the European Union only if Kyiv were excluded from the bloc's common defense policy.
Russia is also seeking restrictions on Europe's nuclear deterrence. While its 2021 demands targeted NATO's nuclear-sharing arrangements, the new document goes further, calling on Britain and France to rule out using their nuclear weapons to defend other European countries.
A return to Cold War spheres of influence
According to people present at the Abu Dhabi talks, Russian officials explicitly pointed to the Cold War and the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact as a model for Europe's future security arrangements.
They argued that dividing Europe into American and Soviet spheres of influence had reduced the risk of conflict through established understandings and communication between the two powers.
The position suggests that Moscow is seeking not only concessions over Ukraine but also a broader restructuring of Europe's security order.
Russian representatives indicated that the document was an opening position and that President Vladimir Putin might be willing to compromise, according to people familiar with the negotiations.
How the United States and Europe responded
U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner told Russian negotiators that much had changed since Moscow first presented similar demands in December 2021, according to an American official cited by the NYT.
The envoys urged Russia to put forward new proposals that included concrete steps Moscow would take to reduce tensions.
After meeting Putin in Moscow on November 12, Kushner and Witkoff traveled to Dublin to brief Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Kushner subsequently said that a deal could not be concluded without European participation.
European leaders have already rejected Russia's demands. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that accepting Moscow's conditions would pose a direct threat to Poland's security.
The renewed demands come ahead of a planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Putin in Shenzhen, China, next week, on the sidelines of the APEC summit.
Despite more than 20 months of diplomatic efforts by the Trump administration, the Russian document indicates that Moscow's fundamental demands concerning Ukraine and European security remain largely unchanged.
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