Russia Demands 'Ironclad' Guarantees in Ukraine Deal

Russia will seek "ironclad" guarantees in any peace deal on Ukraine that NATO nations will exclude Kyiv from membership and that Ukraine will remain neutral, a Russian deputy foreign minister said in remarks published on Monday.

- Reuters

[e-mail] MOSCOW:

US President Donald Trump is trying to win President Vladimir Putin's support for a 30-day ceasefire proposal that Ukraine accepted last week and which Putin says needs to meet crucial conditions to be acceptable.

In a broad-ranging interview with the Russian media outlet Izvestia that made no reference to the ceasefire proposal, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said that any long-lasting peace treaty on Ukraine must meet Moscow's demands.

"We will demand that ironclad security guarantees become part of this agreement," Izvestia cited Grushko as saying. "Part of these guarantees should be the neutral status of Ukraine, the refusal of NATO countries to accept it into the alliance."

Moscow is categorically against the deployment of NATO observers to Ukraine, Grushko also reiterated the Kremlin's position.