Russia Said to Have Laid Out Demands for Talks With US on Ukraine

Russia has presented the US with a list of demands for a deal to end its war against Ukraine and reset relations with Washington, according to two people familiar with the matter.

- 

WASHINGTON -

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 sources said.

They described the Kremlin's terms as broad and similar to demands that it had previously presented to Ukraine, the US and NATO.

Those earlier terms included no NATO membership for Kyiv, an agreement not to deploy foreign troops in Ukraine, and international recognition of Russian President Vladimir Putin's claim that Crimea and four provinces belong to Russia.

Russia, in recent years, has also demanded that the US and NATO address what it has called the "root causes" of the war, including NATO's eastward expansion.

US President Donald Trump is awaiting word from Mr. Putin on whether he will agree to a 30-day truce that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 11 he would accept as a first step towards peace talks.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said her country was ready to talk to the US, and contacts could take place on March 13.

"We are ready to discuss the initiatives set out there in future contacts with the United States. Such contacts are already possible as early as today," said Ms. Zakharova.

The Kremlin said earlier that US negotiators were flying to Russia, and that Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov and US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz had spoken by phone on March 12.