Trump's designated representative, Witkoff, arrived in Russia.
In the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, a potential de-escalation proposal has emerged. Russia has suggested suspending air strikes with drones and missiles, provided Ukraine signs an agreement. However, the chances of an agreement between Russia and the USA (or between Russia and Ukraine as a result) appear low, according to observers.
The core of Russia's proposals revolves around conditions for a ceasefire arranged in recent diplomatic talks. These conditions include Ukraine halting its mobilization efforts, freezing Western arms deliveries to Ukraine, banning any third-country military forces on Ukrainian territory, and withdrawing its forces from the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions. Russia also proposes ending martial law in Ukraine, holding elections, signing a comprehensive peace treaty, and recognizing Russia's annexation of Crimea and the four Ukrainian regions.
Furthermore, Russia demands that Ukraine declares a neutral status between Russia and the West, abandoning its NATO membership aspirations, limiting its armed forces, and recognizing Russian as an official language equal to Ukrainian. Russia also seeks to ban the "glorification and propaganda" of Nazism and neo-Nazism and dissolve nationalist groups, which it alleges are influential in Kyiv. These conditions, seen as unacceptable by Ukraine and its Western allies, maintain a high probability of continued conflict rather than peace.
Ukrainian President Zelensky has rejected Russia's demands, especially the territorial withdrawals. The status of US special envoy Steve Witkoff's meeting with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin during his visit is not specified. Witkoff has arrived in Moscow for talks with the Russian leadership, and he was met by Kirill Dmitriev, special envoy of the president, according to Russian state media.
Meanwhile, the US has threatened further sanctions against Russia, including so-called secondary sanctions against Russian trading partners like China and India. The "Financial Times" reports on possible further US measures against the Russian shadow fleet, which Russia uses to circumvent western sanctions on oil transport. However, it's unclear if Witkoff will meet with Putin during his visit.
The negotiations over a ceasefire in Ukraine have been at an impasse for months. Despite Russia’s package proposals being formally presented, deep disagreements on core issues—such as territorial concessions and sovereignty—make a diplomatic agreement unlikely at this time. The complex demands from Russia involve conditions that Ukraine and its Western allies see as unacceptable, maintaining a high probability of continued conflict rather than peace.
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- The European Union, despite not being directly involved in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, has demonstrated its commitment to a common policy on the environment, as it closely monitors the impact of the ongoing war on the region's ecosystem.
- Amidst the political tensions, general news outlets continue to cover the ongoing negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, focusing on the stalemate in the peace talks and the unacceptable demands from Russia that have maintained a high probability of conflict rather than peace.
