Trump to talk to Putin today: What conditions do Ukraine, Russia have for the ceasefire?

The United States has proposed a 30-day truce in Russia’s three-year-old war in Ukraine, which Moscow must accept as a confidence-building move before the two sides can work out a longer-term peace plan.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russian President Vladimir Putin will try to stall such a short-term truce by imposing limitations intended to deflect the peace process and prolong the conflict.

Notably, Ukraine was under pressure to accept the ceasefire after US President Donald Trump halted military aid and intelligence sharing to the war-torn nation. Kyiv anticipates that the US president will threaten additional sanctions on Moscow to pressure Putin into agreeing to the agreements.

Trump and Putin are set to hold talks today (March 18) and the topic of ending the war includes land and power plants, which he referred to as “dividing up certain assets.”

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However, despite the temporary truce, both parties have red lines and they appear unwilling to make significant compromises to one another.

Here’s a closer look at the matter:

Russia’s demands

When Putin launched a full-scale offensive on February 24, 2022, he called for Ukraine to reject Nato, drastically reduce its army and preserve the Russian language and its culture in line with Moscow.

Now, he has called on Kyiv to remove its troops from Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, the four areas Moscow unlawfully annexed in September 2022 but never completely occupied.

Russian officials have also stated that other American and EU sanctions should be lifted as part of any peace agreement, along with the release of Russian assets that were frozen in the West. The Trump administration has suggested considering easing sanctions.

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Putin has also made repeated calls to “remove the root causes of the crisis”— a reference to the Kremlin’s insistence on reversing a Nato military buildup close to Russian borders that it claims poses a serious danger to its security.

He also says Zelenskyy is not legitimate to sign a peace agreement because his term ended last year. According to Kyiv, elections cannot be held during a conflict. Trump has mirrored Putin’s stance by stating that an election in Ukraine is necessary.

Moreover, Russian authorities have stated that Moscow will not accept any Nato member’s soldiers as peacekeepers to oversee a potential truce.

Ukraine’s demands

Ukraine has retreated from calling for the return of its state borders to pre-2014 lines due to setbacks along the 1,000-kilometre (620-mile) front, as it lacks the military power to achieve that.

Kyiv wants a peace agreement backed by security assurances from partners abroad that will prevent another invasion by Russia.

Parallel negotiations led by France and Britain are forming what those guarantees may look like in lieu of Nato membership, which Kyiv has long desired but seems almost unachievable without US support.

A “coalition of the willing” envisions European boots on the ground and a strong military response if Russia were to launch a new offensive.

In an expensive undertaking that will need prompt and steady assistance from foreign friends, Zelenskyy has demanded that the Ukrainian army be bolstered to repel future Russian offensives.

Another key demand is for a weapons stockpile that might seriously damage Russian assets. Kyiv wants to strengthen the country’s arms sector and reduce its dependence on allies, which has caused Ukrainian troops to regress during the conflict.

Ukraine also has important demands from Russia. Even in areas that are partially seized, Kyiv is refusing to give Moscow any more land.

It also wants thousands of people held in Russian prisons and children who were unlawfully transported to Russia to return.

Also read:  Ukraine war: How Trump’s peace initiatives are challenging both West and Russia

Red lines that cannot be crossed

Negotiations are very difficult since both sides have boundaries that cannot be crossed.

According to the US, both parties need to compromise.

The destiny of the fifth of Ukrainian territory currently occupied by Russia is probably going to be the primary focus.

The existence of Nato members as peacekeepers or as a reassuring force outside the alliance framework is a red line for Moscow. However, Moscow has made no mention of any particular concessions.

For Ukraine, which is in a weaker position, the matter of Russian-held territory that it does not have the military means to retake is important. It is both a red line and a possible compromise for Kyiv.

According to Zelenskyy, his nation will never acknowledge the region as Russian.

Although this will always be Kyiv’s official stance, Ukrainian officials acknowledge that the occupied regions will probably continue to be ruled by Russia for some time.

“Partners know our red lines — that we do not recognize the occupied territories as the territories of the Russian Federation, and we do not recognize them,” Zelenskyy told journalists recently. “This is my political will as president. And this is the political will of our people. This is a violation of international law and the Constitution of Ukraine.”

Ukraine also opposes limitations on its military’s size and capabilities as well as limits on its access to global alliances like the European Union and Nato.

With inputs from AP