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US and Russian officials have been meeting in Saudi Arabia for talks to end the war in Ukraine, leaving Kyiv to watch from afar.
While the talks have been framed as “exploratory” by both sides, it is already clear that Moscow is insisting on conditions that will be unacceptable to Ukraine and its allies.
Here is a look at some of the key demands outlined by Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, on Monday:
Ukraine to cede more territory: Nebenzya told the UN Security Council that parts of Ukraine’s territory, including Crimea and four other regions, have been “irrevocably lost.”
He incorrectly claimed that the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, as well as the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, have “joined the Russian Federation.” He was referring to referenda that were held by Russian-installed authorities across the occupied areas, widely denounced as shams by Ukraine and its Western allies.
According to the Institute for the Study of War, a US-based conflict monitor, Russia currently occupies about 99% of the Luhansk region, 70% of the Donetsk region, and roughly 75% of both the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. Nebenzya said that the peace negotiations should “correct” this situation, insisting that Ukraine give up control of the parts of the four regions not under Russian occupation.
Zelensky’s removal: Nebenzya also made it clear that Russia wants to force Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky out of office. The Russian ambassador called Zelensky “the self-proclaimed Ukrainian president” and referred to his government as “the Zelensky cabal,” saying that neither have “a role to play in the new Ukraine.”
Zelensky, then a political newcomer, won Ukraine’s 2019 presidential election in a landslide. His mandate should have ended last May, but he remains in office because Ukraine is currently under martial law after Russia launched an unprovoked full-scale invasion in February 2022. Martial law prohibits holding elections.
“Neutral” Ukraine: Nebenzya also said that Ukraine should be a “demilitarized, neutral state, not a part of any blocs or alliances.” Ukraine has long insisted on joining NATO in the future and the defense alliance has said the door is open to any country that wishes to join, as long as it fulfills the admission criteria.
EU and UK excluded from talks: Nebenzya also said that the European Union and the United Kingdom are “absolutely unfaithful” to their word and cannot act as mediators or be part of any agreement on Ukraine. He added that the EU and UK are “incapable” of reaching any agreement with Russia because they are blinded by “primitive Russophobia.”
