The Kremlin rejects the European peace plan and the progress agreed between the United States and Ukraine and insists that negotiations begin with Washington’s original proposal, which left Kiev on the brink of surrender. Moscow took this position on Monday after intense negotiations in Europe last weekend, stressing that no agreement has been reached so far.
“The Kremlin is aware of the European peace plan. Its provisions are not constructive and are not suitable for Russia,” said Yuri Ushakov, Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy advisor. Previously, in a meeting with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Russian leader reiterated that Donald Trump’s original proposal “can be used as the basis for a final peaceful solution.”
The initial initiative launched by Washington consisted of 28 points, including the transfer of the entire Donetsk and Luhansk region to Russia, the freezing of the conflict in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia and a firm rejection of Ukraine’s entry into NATO. After Sunday’s meeting between Kiev and Washington delegations in Geneva, the new peace plan was narrowed down to 19 points and included some of Ukraine’s main demands, according to the Financial times. The newspaper RBC Ukraine He added that the provisions regarding the territories and Kiev’s non-membership of NATO have been postponed for further debate at the presidential level.
“We have received a draft. And, of course, it will be subject to review and modification by us and, most likely, by Ukraine and the American and European sides,” Ushakov explained. “Russia is aware of one of the options in the American peace plan, but no concrete negotiations have taken place,” the diplomat added.
Putin’s advisor denounced the alternative proposed by the European Union, whose plan provides security guarantees for Ukraine similar to NATO’s Article 5 (protection by military intervention in the event of a new invasion) from European partners and the United States. However, Ushakov showed some appreciation for the Trump administration’s initial proposal.
“Many – I would not say all, but many – of the provisions of this plan seem quite acceptable to us. Others, and there are many of them – 28 points in total – require discussion and detailed consideration between the parties,” Ushakov said.
Peace negotiations had cooled since Putin and Trump met in Alaska in August. Faced with American attempts to quickly end the war, the Kremlin has responded in recent months that peace must address “the root causes of the conflict.” That is, it must satisfy all Russian objectives, disarm Kiev and bring Ukraine back under its sphere of influence.
The new peace plan revived these talks, albeit in a confusing way. Indeed, the origin of the original US draft is uncertain. Some media speculate that it may be a document sent from Moscow to Washington. Several Republican senators said over the weekend that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had told them the original plan was a Russian “wish list.” Rubio later refuted this accusation.
In any case, the Kremlin does not want to speed up the negotiations. Putin said last Friday that the 28-point plan needs to be reviewed “thoroughly” and expressed his satisfaction with the progress of his invasion, which is on track to surpass the duration of the Soviet Great Patriotic War against the Third Reich in less than two months.
Putin has shown interest in the original American draft and reiterated on Monday that the plan could be the blueprint for an eventual peace agreement.
“Vladimir Putin told (Erdogan) that these proposals, in the form in which they were formulated when the Russian side considered them, are in line with what was discussed during the Russia-US summit in Alaska,” read the Kremlin statement regarding the conversation with the Turkish leader.
However, the American proposal did not arouse any euphoria in Russian political circles. Senior officials remained silent, even the most outspoken, such as former President Dmitry Medvedev, and only one Duma deputy expressed what many think. “It is a provocation (…) The conflict can only be completely resolved if we achieve a clear victory on the front and Ukraine capitulates. Any other result will only postpone the war,” Alexei Zhuravlev, first deputy chairman of the Defense Committee of the State Duma, said last weekend.
The Kremlin is trying to bring negotiations back to the right point reached with Trump during the presidential summit in Alaska, when he managed to avoid the first sanctions imposed by the new American administration. However, the White House eventually lost patience with its convoluted negotiations and sanctioned Russia’s two largest oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft, in October.
Abbas Galiamov, Putin’s former speechwriter, said this, writing in independent media Mozhem ObiasnitTrump’s hasty peace plan “may simply be a show” to try to curry favor with the Russian president after he “literally and illegally seized” the foreign assets of his oil companies. “For Putin, this represents a serious blow, not only financially, but also in terms of reputation in the eyes of his elite,” he adds.
So far, U.S. sanctions have caused Russian oil export revenues to drop 35% in November compared to the same month last year, Reuters estimates. This represents a serious blow to an economy heavily dependent on hydrocarbon exports.
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