Russia is offering notes on peace plans with Ukraine before U.S. officials have even laid out their proposal.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Mike Waltz are expected “to inform [the Kremlin] through various channels about the details of the negotiations and the understanding reached in the coming days.”
But the country’s top diplomat is preemptively taking certain possibilities completely off the table.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during an interview with multiple U.S. bloggers, published Wednesday, that his country would not accept NATO peacekeepers in Ukraine “under any conditions.”
One of Russia’s justifications for its war is that NATO, a purely defensive alliance, has expanded closer to its border. But Russia’s border with NATO members effectively doubled in size with the ascension of Finland and Sweden, which occurred after Russia’s full-scale invasion.
President Donald Trump, in recent weeks, shared some of those sentiments, effectively placing the blame on his predecessor, President Joe Biden.
“A big part of the problem was Russia — for many, many years, long before Putin — said, ‘You could never have NATO involved with Ukraine.’ Now, they’ve said that. That’s been, like, written in stone,” he said in January. “And somewhere along the line, Biden said, ‘No. They should be able to join NATO.’ Well, then Russia has somebody right on their doorstep, and I could understand their feelings about that.”
Lavrov referenced Trump’s remarks multiple times in his interview.
“If NATO expansion is recognized, at least by Donald Trump, as one of the root causes, then the presence of the troops from NATO countries under any flag, in any capacity, on Ukrainian soil is the same threat,” the Russian minister said.
NATO has not offered Ukraine membership, but members agreed last year that it was on an “irreversible” path toward ascension into the alliance.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom Trump said he intends to speak with in the coming days about the proposal, is in an increasingly strong negotiating position as his military continues to expand into Ukrainian territory and reclaim parts of the Kursk region.
A recent decision from the White House to freeze U.S. military aid and intelligence-sharing with Ukraine is exacerbating its deterioration on the front lines.
“Putin has a strong position because Russia is advancing,” a “senior Russian source” told Reuters on Wednesday.
The escalation of Russian advantage may deter the Kremlin from opting into a deal too soon.
Rubio stated on Tuesday that “it would be highly unfortunate” if the Russian government turned down peace plans and that such a rejection would “make their intentions clear.”
The preliminary deal would establish an immediate 30-day interim ceasefire capable of being extended with the consent of both parties.
This break in hostilities would then allow the U.S. to mediate long-term concessions from Russia and Ukraine in order to cement a permanent arrangement.
“We’ll take this offer now to the Russians and hope that they’ll say ‘yes,’ that they’ll say ‘yes’ to peace,” the secretary of state continued. “The ball is now in their court.”
UKRAINE STRUGGLING TO HOLD RUSSIAN LAND THAT COULD BECOME BARGAINING CHIP IN PEACE TALKS
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been on the receiving end of Trump’s wrath for weeks, with the U.S. commander in chief accusing his counterpart of being a dictator, exploiting the U.S. financially, and not being sincere in his appeals for peace.
Now that Ukraine has shaken hands with the U.S. regarding a ceasefire plan, this ire could be redirected at Putin if Trump feels as though Russia is the primary obstacle to American interests.
The president has previously threatened sanctions and other economic punishments on Russia if the Kremlin fails to come to the negotiating table.
