WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
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AUTHOR:M.J. GDNUS
Vladimir Putin is demanding that Ukraine give up the entire Donbass region, its desire to join NATO, remain neutral and not allow Western troops to enter the country, Reuters reports, citing three sources familiar with the thinking of top Kremlin officials.
Recall that Putin met with Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday for the first Russian-American summit in more than four years. During the nearly three-hour meeting, they discussed what a peace deal in Ukraine could look like, anonymous sources told Reuters.
After the meeting with Trump, Putin said he hoped the meeting was a big step towards an agreement, but neither leader revealed details of their conversation.
Putin's conditions
• Ukraine must hand over the entire Donbas region (Donetsk and Lugansk).
• Ukraine must give up NATO membership.
• Ukraine must remain neutral.
• Ukraine must ban Western troops from its territory.
Reuters is now revealing the outlines of what the Kremlin would like to see in a possible peace deal to end the war.
Russian sources said Putin had compromised on territorial demands he made in June 2024, which required Kiev to cede four regions that Moscow considers part of Russia: Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine – which make up the Donbass – plus Kherson and Zaporizhia in the south.
Putin’s “compromises”
• He would halt the front line in the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions.
• He would return small occupied parts of Kharkiv, Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
Kiev has rejected those demands, calling them a flat surrender.
In his new proposal, the Russian president sticks to demands that Ukraine withdraw completely from the parts of Donbass it still controls. In return, Moscow would freeze the front line in Zaporizhia and Kherson and abandon any further advance south.
Sources say that as part of a possible deal, Moscow is also prepared to hand over small parts of the Kharkiv, Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk regions to Ukraine that it now controls.
Putin is also sticking to previous demands that Ukraine abandon its ambitions for NATO membership, as well as limitations on the Ukrainian military and an agreement that no Western troops will be deployed on Ukrainian territory as part of a peacekeeping force.
