Russia lays out demands for talks with US on Ukraine: reports

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.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 people said.They described the Kremlin’s terms as broad and similar to demands it previously has 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 President Vladimir Putin’s claim that Crimea and four provinces belong to Russia.Russia, in recent years, also has demanded 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 Putin on whether he will agree to a 30-day truce that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday he would accept as a first step toward peace talks.Putin’s commitment to a potential ceasefire agreement is still uncertain, with details yet to be finalized.Some US officials, lawmakers and experts fear that Putin, a former KGB officer, would use a truce to intensify what they say is an effort to divide the US, Ukraine and Europe and undermine any talks.The Russian embassy in Washington and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.In Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed this week’s meeting in Saudi Arabia between US and Ukrainian officials as constructive, and said a potential 30-day ceasefire with Russia could be used to draft a broader peace deal.Moscow has raised many of these same demands over the last two decades, some making their way into formal negotiations with the US and Europe.Most recently, Mosco...