Bild reports that Russia demands Finland leave NATO. Kremlin responds
Photo: Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov (Getty Images)
Russia is demanding that Finland leave NATO and that Alliance bases not be deployed in the Baltic states as conditions for ending the war in Ukraine, Bild reports.
Bild report
According to the outlet, Russian representatives put forward tough conditions regarding a "new European security order" during unofficial negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine. They also presented them to Europeans during the talks in Abu Dhabi.
As Bild notes, Moscow proposes retaining the Ukrainian territories it has occupied and taking control of the entire Donbas, including the parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions currently controlled by Kyiv.
In addition, the Russian plan calls for NATO military bases not to be deployed in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, as well as for Finland to leave the Alliance.
Ukraine is to receive non-bloc status and abandon its bid to join NATO, although its EU membership is not ruled out.
Under this plan, the ports of Odesa and Mykolaiv are proposed to be "demilitarized" so that Ukraine cannot use them as naval bases.
The plan also provides for agreements on freedom of navigation in the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea.
According to the outlet, Moscow's demands also concern Moldova. Russia proposes turning it into a federal republic comprising Moldova itself, the autonomous region of Gagauzia, and the unrecognized Transnistria.
If the country joins the EU, Transnistria and Gagauzia are to be given the opportunity to hold referendums on independence.
In return, Russia proposes removing nuclear weapons from Belarus and abandoning the deployment of intermediate-range missiles there. In addition, Moscow is ready to withdraw its troops from Transnistria.
Bild emphasizes that this is just one of the proposals being discussed in unofficial negotiating circles.
Several groups of intermediaries are operating in parallel, including groups linked to the military. They are competing with one another, and it is not yet known whether Russian President Vladimir Putin has endorsed this particular plan.
What the Kremlin says
Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied Bild's report about Russia's demands for Finland to leave NATO.
"I am not aware of this. No, no such conditions have been put forward. This definitely was not discussed," he said.
Peace talks
On November 10 and 11, the first trilateral peace talks between Ukraine, the US, and Russia since February took place in Abu Dhabi.
According to RBC-Ukraine sources, on the second day of the meeting in Abu Dhabi, the Russian delegation refused to discuss a ceasefire, territorial issues, energy, and security in the Black Sea.
The focus of the discussions shifted to Europe's future security architecture, while the war against Ukraine took a back seat.
Ukrainian delegation member Davyd Arakhamia also acknowledged that the talks had been tough due to the directives the Russians arrived with. At the same time, he said that discussions about the post-war future had helped establish dialogue, and there was good momentum toward finding a solution by the beginning of next year.
Read more about the outcomes of the talks in Abu Dhabi in the RBC-Ukraine report.
On November 12, Trump's special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner traveled to Moscow for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. They later met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Dublin.
Putin said that Russia had never closed the door to dialogue with Europe, but added that Moscow would like "the Americans to work with Europe and determine what they want – peace or war." He also cynically said that he would like "peace in Ukraine to be eternal."
After meeting with Putin, Witkoff announced that an agreement had been reached on a new round of trilateral talks.
