Putin is ready to discuss freezing war and ceasefire with Trump, but won't give up territories – Reuters

Russian officials have said that Russian ruler Vladimir Putin is open to discussing a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine with Donald Trump, but rules out the liberation of occupied territories and insists that Ukraine abandon its NATO aspirations.

Source: Reuters, citing five sources familiar with the Kremlin's opinion

Details: In the first detailed report on what Putin would accept in any Trump-brokered deal, five current and former Russian officials said the Kremlin could broadly agree to a ceasefire along the line of contact.

According to three of the sources, who wished to remain anonymous to discuss sensitive issues, there may be room for negotiations on the exact division of four eastern oblasts – Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Moscow claims that these four oblasts are part of Russia.

Nevertheless, two Russian officials have said that Russia might be open to withdrawing troops from the relatively small areas of the territory it holds in Kharkiv and Mykolaiv oblasts.

Two sources said that US President Joe Biden's decision to allow Ukraine to launch US ATACMS missiles deep into Russia could complicate and delay any settlement – and increase Moscow's demands.

Both sources stated that if a ceasefire is not agreed, Russia will continue to fight.

Quote from Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov: "Putin has already said that freezing the conflict will not work in any way. And the missile authorisation is a very dangerous escalation on the part of the United States."

More details: In total, Russia has seized more than 110,000 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory. Ukraine holds about 650 square kilometres of Russia's Kursk Oblast.

One source said that Putin might sell the ceasefire agreement within Russia, which would leave Russia holding most of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts and preserve the land bridge to Crimea, as a victory.

All those Russian officials claimed that the future of Crimea itself is not up for discussion.

One official, a senior source familiar with top-level discussions in the Kremlin, said the West would have to accept the "harsh truth" that all the support it had given Ukraine had failed to prevent Russia from winning the war.

When asked what a ceasefire might look like, two Russian sources cited a draft agreement that circulated in Russia in April 2022.

According to the agreement, Ukraine would have to pledge permanent neutrality in exchange for international security guarantees from five permanent members of the UN Security Council: the UK, China, France, Russia and the US.

Background:

• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expects support from US President-elect Donald Trump in the event of talks between Kyiv and Moscow regarding the war, and he said a "strong Ukraine" would be the foundation of those talks.
• In April 2022, Russia effectively upset peace talks with Ukraine when it included a clause in the draft treaty stating that it would have a veto over the international community’s response in the event of a repeated attack on Ukraine.

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