Extensive demands in the negotiations to end the war against Ukraine, including Finland’s withdrawal from NATO and the removal of the Alliance’s military bases from the Baltic states, have reportedly been put forward by Russia.
According to a report in the German newspaper Bild, which cites the Anadolu Agency, the proposals—which were reportedly communicated to European representatives during talks in Abu Dhabi — extend far beyond Ukraine’s borders and aim to establish a “new European security order,” as envisioned by Moscow
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
According to Bild, Russia seeks to retain all Ukrainian territories currently under its control and to take the remaining parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that are still controlled by Kyiv.
At the same time, Ukraine must remain permanently non-aligned, ruling out its accession to NATO, while leaving open the possibility of joining the European Union.
Moscow also demands the demilitarization of the Ukrainian Black Sea ports of Odessa and Mykolaiv, which would be prohibited from operating as naval bases. At the same time, separate arrangements would guarantee freedom of navigation in the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea.
Bild Reveals Russian Demands in Abu Dhabi: Finland’s Withdrawal from NATO, Removal of Bases from the Baltic
NATO’s presence in Northern Europe
The proposals would also drastically alter NATO’s presence in Northern Europe. Russia is reportedly demanding the removal of all Alliance military bases from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, while Finland would be called upon to withdraw from the alliance and return to the status that existed prior to its accession.
However, later, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied that Russia had demanded Finland’s withdrawal from NATO. “I know nothing about that. No, no such conditions were set. That certainly wasn’t discussed,” he stated.
The demands extend to Moldova and Belarus
The alleged proposals also concern Moldova’s political future. According to the Belarusian newspaper Nasha Niva, Moscow wants to transform the country into a federal republic consisting of Moldova, the autonomous region of Gagauzia, and the Russian-backed breakaway region of Transnistria.
Under the proposal, if Moldova joins the EU, Transnistria and Gagauzia would be allowed to hold referendums on independence.
In exchange for these broader concessions, Russia is reportedly offering to withdraw its nuclear weapons from Belarus and to refrain from deploying medium-range missiles there, including the Iskander and Oreshnik systems. Moscow would also be willing to withdraw its troops from Transnistria, Nasha Niva reported.
Bild emphasized that this particular plan is just one of several proposals circulating in informal negotiating circles, while it remains unclear which of these—if any—Russian President Vladimir Putin personally supports.
During his meeting on Thursday with U.S. envoys Steve Whitecoff and Jared Kushner, Putin reiterated Moscow’s uncompromising demands, rejecting any presence of foreign troops in Ukraine following a peace agreement. He even warned that any European forces deployed as part of postwar security arrangements would be “legitimate military targets” and that the war would resume immediately.
Putin also rejected proposals for demilitarized or “gray” zones between Russian and Ukrainian forces, insisting that “state borders” should be the only dividing line.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) interpreted this statement as a reaffirmation of Moscow’s demand for full control over the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia—including territories that Russian forces have never occupied.
At the same time, Moscow has shown no willingness to exchange occupied territories. The Russian president’s adviser, Vladimir Medinsky, stated that Russia rejects territorial exchanges and will continue to expand the so-called security zone in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions, which it cites to justify its presence in Ukraine’s border regions.
Source: Proto Thema
