Russia lays out demands for talks with US on Ukraine, sources say
It is not clear what exactly Moscow included on its list or whether it is willing to engage in peace talks with Kyiv prior to their acceptance. Russian and American officials discussed the terms during in-person and virtual conversations over the last three weeks, the people said.
They described the Kremlin's terms as broad and similar to demands it previously has presented to Ukraine, the U.S. and NATO.
Those earlier terms included no NATO membership for Kyiv, an agreement not to deploy foreign troops in Ukraine and international recognition of President Vladimir Putin's claim that Crimea and four provinces belong to Russia.
Russia, in recent years, also has demanded the U.S. and NATO address what it has called the «root causes» of the war, including NATO's eastward expansion.
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U.S. President Donald Trump is awaiting word from Putin on whether he will agree to a 30-day truce that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he would accept as a first step toward peace talks.
Putin's commitment to a potential ceasefire agreement is still uncertain, with details yet to be finalized.
Some U.S. officials, lawmakers and experts fear that Putin, a former KGB officer, would use a truce to intensify what they say is an effort to divide the U.S., Ukraine and Europe and undermine any talks.
The Russian embassy in Washington and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed this week's meeting in Saudi Arabia between U.S. and Ukrainian officials as constructive, and said a potential 30-day ceasefire with Russia could be used to draft a broader peace deal.
Moscow has raised many of these same demands over the last two