- Russia has proposed informal demands during Abu Dhabi talks, including Finland's NATO exit and a ban on NATO military bases in the Baltic states, according to the German newspaper Bild.
- Dmitry Peskov, the Russian presidential spokesman, denied the demand for Finland's NATO withdrawal, stating it was not part of the discussions.
- U.S. envoy Jared Kushner announced that Russia and Ukraine have agreed to include European representatives in the next round of negotiations, indicating meaningful progress.
- The proposals extend beyond Ukraine and aim to establish a new European security order, reflecting Russia's longstanding position against NATO's eastward expansion.
- Russia's demands include retaining all currently occupied Ukrainian territory and gaining control of the entire Donbas region, while Ukraine would have to surrender remaining areas of Donetsk and Luhansk.
- Ukraine would remain permanently non-aligned, preventing NATO membership but allowing for potential European Union membership, as part of the proposals.
Russia's recent proposals during peace negotiations in Abu Dhabi include Finland's withdrawal from NATO and a ban on NATO military bases in the Baltic states, as reported by Bild. These demands aim to reshape Europe's security landscape, extending beyond Ukraine's territorial disputes.1
The proposals suggest that Russia would retain all currently occupied Ukrainian territory and gain control of the entire Donbas region, while Ukraine would have to surrender the remaining areas of Donetsk and Luhansk still under its control. Additionally, the ports of Odesa and Mykolaiv would be demilitarized and prohibited from serving as naval bases, ensuring freedom of navigation in the Black Sea and Baltic Sea.
Furthermore, the plan stipulates that Ukraine must remain permanently non-aligned, ruling out NATO membership but allowing for potential European Union membership. Moscow is also seeking a prohibition on NATO military bases in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, with Finland required to revert to its pre-NATO status.
In exchange for these concessions, Russia reportedly would withdraw nuclear weapons from Belarus and refrain from deploying intermediate-range missiles there. However, Peskov denied that Finland's NATO exit was part of the discussions, stating, “No, it was not. This, of course, was not discussed exactly.”
The negotiations are set to expand to include European representatives, as U.S. special envoy Jared Kushner announced that both Russia and Ukraine agreed to broaden the scope of discussions to include security arrangements alongside territorial issues.3
“The proposals, shared with European representatives in Abu Dhabi, aim to establish 'a new European security order' and would require Ukraine to remain permanently non-aligned, while Russia would keep all occupied territory and gain the entire Donbas. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the Finland demand, saying it was not discussed.”
