Over the course of months leading up to the break out of a full-fledged war in 2022, Russian officials have on different ocassions indicated President Vladimir Putin’s demands, which were reportedly reiterated during his nearly three-hour summit with US President Donald Trump earlier this week, CNN reported, quoting European officials who were privy to the US President’s summary.
Putin wants Ukraine to give up the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine as part of a “land swap” deal. In return, he is willing to freeze front lines in other occupied regions like Kherson and Zaporizhzhia and has assured not to attack Ukraine or other European countries, according to a Reuters report published Saturday.
However, Putin’s demands extend beyond land. The Russian side is also insistent on eliminating what the Kremlin believes has been the “root causes” of the war, meaning the Ukrainian side must reduce its military, give up its on its hopes for a possible membership of the NATO, and become a neutral state, a set of conditions, which analysts believe reflects Putin’s objective for a long-term security setup favourable to Russia as opposed to the idea of a temporary ceasefire.
Trump’s Take and Next Steps
On Saturday, Trump briefed European leaders on these talks upon his return to Washington, and said that he believed a deal could be quickly reached if Putin’s conditions were accepted. The US President is expected to discuss the proposal with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Monday. Trump has also showed openness to providing US security guarantees to Ukraine once the war ends, but details of what those guarantees might include remain unclear.
Meanwhile, European officials have expressed skepticism about a quick resolution, although many leaders appear to have practised caution in contradicting Trump’s summary of the summit.
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Why This Summit Matters to Putin
Putin’s push, observers say, is just as much about international recognition and symbolism. According to a BBC analysis, Putin sees the very summit as proof that efforts to isolate Moscow have failed. Meeting with the US president and holding the summit in Alaska, near Russia’s eastern borders, seemingly send a message that Russia remains a major player on the world stage.
In efforts to draw a historical parallel, the meeting was notably, held in Alaska — once a Russian territory — before it was sold to the US in the 19th century.
Reports suggest Putin’s ultimate goal is to keep all the land Russia has seized in Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and to have Kyiv withdraw from any Ukrainian-held parts of those regions. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for his part, has consistently asserted that the very idea is unacceptable, saying, “Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier.”
Russia Faces Economic Pressure
Russia is reportedly facing growing economic troubles with falling oil revenues and rising deficits, which might push Putin to consider compromises. But so far, Kremlin officials have projected confidence that Moscow holds the upper hand, at least militarily.
If Trump supports Putin’s territorial demands, there’s a growing concern that the US aid to Ukraine might be cut, potentially leading to improved US-Russia relations.
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