Russia is contemplating a withdrawal from ongoing peace negotiations with Ukraine, facilitated by the United States, if Ukraine does not agree to territorial concessions demanded by Moscow. This information comes from sources close to the Kremlin, as reported by Bloomberg.
According to these anonymous sources, Russian officials are increasingly convinced that continuing discussions under U.S. auspices is futile unless Ukraine agrees to withdraw its troops from the Donetsk region, which remains a central demand of Russia. However, Russia has indicated a willingness to sign a draft memorandum for a peace agreement should Ukraine concede.
Bloomberg’s sources also reveal that Russia is prepared to pull its forces from occupied areas in Sumy, Kharkiv, and Dnipropetrovsk regions, while not insisting on extending control over the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. Moscow claims all these territories, including Donetsk, Luhansk, and Crimea, as Russian.
Additionally, Russia is open to U.S.-led monitoring of a ceasefire and has dropped its demand to limit the size of the Ukrainian military. The future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, currently under Russian control, remains a topic of discussion.
The upcoming negotiations scheduled for March 4-5 are expected to be pivotal, determining whether the parties can make progress toward a genuine peace agreement or if they will reach an impasse.
As of now, the Kremlin has not commented on Bloomberg’s report, although Russian officials have previously emphasized that the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbas is a non-negotiable condition. Other demands from Russia have not been detailed by Bloomberg.
The White House has also refrained from commenting on these developments. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has consistently stated that he will not cede any territories under Ukrainian control to Russia.
Multiple rounds of trilateral meetings involving Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia took place in January and February regarding the war’s resolution, but no specific outcomes have been disclosed. However, a meeting on February 5 resulted in an agreement for a prisoner exchange, the first in five months.
Stephen Witkoff, a special envoy for former President Donald Trump, recently expressed optimism in an interview with Fox News, suggesting that positive developments could emerge in the coming weeks and hinting at a potential meeting between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Prior to the Geneva talks on February 17-18, President Biden urged Ukraine to engage in negotiations quickly. Trump had previously suggested that Russia might be seeking an agreement amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Despite U.S. mediation efforts to end the war, Russia has shown little willingness to soften its rigid demands, which include Ukraine’s relinquishment of Donbas territories. Analysts from ISW have noted that the Kremlin continues to reject Western security guarantees for Ukraine and signals adherence to its maximalist objectives in the conflict. They suggest that Russian officials indicate dissatisfaction with mere territorial concessions.
Meanwhile, Ukraine insists on robust security guarantees from the U.S. and European allies to protect against future Russian aggression.
Russia is considering leaving peace talks with Ukraine unless territorial concessions are made, as tensions rise ahead of crucial negotiations. The situation remains fluid, with both sides holding firm on their demands.
Source: Bloomberg