MOSCOW has reportedly handed Washington a list of conditions for a potential agreement to end its ongoing conflict with Ukraine and recalibrate relations between the two global powers.
The exact contents of the list remain undisclosed, and it remains uncertain whether Russia is willing to engage in peace negotiations with Kyiv prior to the acceptance of these conditionss.
According to these individuals, Russian and American officials have held discussions both in-person and virtually over the past three weeks. Moscow’s demands reportedly align with those it has previously made to Ukraine, the United States, and NATO.
These include a commitment that Kyiv will not join NATO, an agreement preventing the deployment of foreign troops in Ukraine, and international recognition of Russia’s claims over Crimea and four other Ukrainian provinces.
Additionally, Russia has long insisted that the US and NATO address what it perceives as the fundamental causes of the war, including the expansion of the alliance into Eastern Europe.
US President Donald Trump is currently awaiting a response from Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding a proposed 30-day ceasefire, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky indicated he would accept as an initial step toward peace negotiations.
However, Putin’s position on such an agreement remains uncertain, and the finer details of the proposal have yet to be determined.
The potential ceasefire has prompted concerns among some US officials and analysts, who fear that Moscow could exploit the truce to sow division among the US, Ukraine, and Europe while undermining diplomatic efforts.
Neither the White House nor the Russian embassy in Washington has responded to requests for comment.
Meanwhile, in Kyiv, Zelensky hailed a recent meeting in Saudi Arabia between US and Ukrainian officials as productive.
He suggested that a temporary cessation of hostilities with Russia could pave the way for drafting a comprehensive peace agreement.
Moscow has consistently raised similar demands over the past two decades, some of which have previously surfaced in formal negotiations with the US and European nations.
Most notably, Russia engaged with the Biden administration on these issues in a series of talks in late 2021 and early 2022, just as Russian troops amassed along Ukraine’s borders ahead of their February 2022 invasion.
The discussions at the time included restrictions on US and NATO military activities stretching from Eastern Europe to Central Asia.
While the Biden administration rejected several of Moscow’s proposals, it sought to mitigate tensions by engaging with Russian officials on select issues.
However, these diplomatic efforts ultimately failed to deter the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In recent weeks, officials from both Washington and Moscow have acknowledged that a draft agreement discussed in Istanbul in 2022 could serve as a foundation for renewed peace negotiations. However, that agreement never materialised into a formal deal.
During the Istanbul talks, Russia had demanded that Ukraine abandon its NATO ambitions, adopt a permanent non-nuclear status, and grant Moscow a de facto veto over foreign military assistance to Ukraine in the event of future conflicts.
The Trump administration has yet to clarify its approach to ongoing negotiations with Russia. Current discussions appear to be taking place on two parallel tracks—one addressing the broader reset of US-Russia relations and the other focused on a potential settlement of the war in Ukraine.
However, internal divisions within the administration regarding the best course of action remain apparent.
Steve Witkoff, the US Middle East envoy involved in discussions with Moscow, described the 2022 Istanbul negotiations as “cogent and substantive” during a recent CNN interview, stating that they could serve as “a guidepost to get a peace deal done.”
However, Trump’s top envoy for Ukraine and Russia, retired General Keith Kellogg, expressed scepticism about revisiting the terms of the previous talks, arguing at a Council on Foreign Relations event last week, “I think we have to develop something entirely new.”
Experts suggest that Moscow’s demands are designed not only to shape the eventual agreement with Ukraine but also to redefine its broader relationship with Western nations.
Over the years, Russia has consistently called for restrictions on NATO’s ability to expand its military presence in Europe—proposals that, if accepted, could enhance Putin’s strategic influence in the region.
“There’s no sign that the Russians are willing to make any concessions,” said Angela Stent, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and former US intelligence analyst for Russia and Eurasia.
“The demands haven’t changed at all. I think they are not really interested in peace or a meaningful ceasefire.”
During the Biden administration’s efforts to prevent the 2022 invasion, US officials reportedly engaged with their Russian counterparts on three key demands outlined by Moscow.
These included restrictions on NATO military exercises in Eastern Europe, a prohibition on US intermediate-range missile deployments within reach of Russian territory, and curbs on military drills spanning from Eastern Europe to Central Asia.
“These are the same Russian demands that have been made since 1945,” remarked Kori Schake, a former Pentagon official who now directs foreign and defence policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. “With the behaviour of the Trump administration in recent weeks, Europeans aren’t just scared we’re abandoning them, they’re afraid we’ve joined the enemy.”
