 "Russia rejects Trump's ceasefire proposal, lists maximalist demands")
Russia has rejected US President Donald Trump’s latest peace proposal even as it fulfils some of the biggest Russian demands.
In a seven-point ceasefire proposal conveyed to Ukraine and Russia earlier this month, Trump has offered legal recognition of the Russian annexation of Crimea and de facto recognition of Russia’s annexation of four Ukrainian provinces of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.
However, that was not enough for Russia as the country has made a host of maximalist demands.
Even as Trump has been pressuring Ukraine into accepting Russia’s terms for months, Russia has rejected all ceasefire proposals endorsed by the Trump administration so far. So far, Russia has rejected the proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, a proposal for the ceasefire related to the energy infrastructure, and a ceasefire for the Black Sea.
Russia’s rejection of the seven-point proposal has come at a time when US Secretary Marco Rubio has said that Trump would decide this week whether to continue mediation between Ukraine and Russia or abandon efforts to move on to other priorities.
Russia lists maximalist demands to end war
Even though Trump has fulfilled major Russian demands in the proposal, Russia has rejected the proposal and has asked for complete acceptance of its demands.
In an interview with Brazil’s ‘O Globo’ newspaper, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that any ceasefire proposal must also include “security guarantees” for Russia in the form of limits on Ukraine’s military, an overhaul of the Ukrainian government and constitution, and ouster of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government, and legal recognition, not de facto recognition, of all Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia.
For any peace deal, the removal of the “neo-Nazi regime which took power in Kiev after the February 2014 putsch, including the initiative by its perpetrators to eradicate and cancel, in both physical and legislative terms, everything Russian, be it the Russian language, media, culture, traditions, or the canonical Orthodox faith” is a must, said Lavrov.
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In 2014, a mass-movement removed Russian proxy Viktor Yanukovych as the President of Ukraine. One of Russia’s major aims with the invasion in 2022 was to overthrow Zelenskyy’s government install a puppet like Yanukovych.
Lavrov also said that “demilitarising and de-Nazifying Ukraine is also on the agenda, along with lifting sanctions, withdrawing lawsuits, and cancelling arrest warrants, as well as returning Russian assets subjected to the so-called freeze in the West”.
Lavrov further said, “We will also insist on obtaining solid security guarantees for the Russian Federation in order to shield it from any threats emanating from hostile activities by Nato, the European Union and some of their member states along our western border.”
What in Trump’s 7-point proposal?
In the first point, Trump proposed the two sides to establish an immediate ceasefire.
In the second point, Trump proposed direct talks between Ukraine and Russia.
In the third point, Trump ruled out Ukraine’s membership of Nato.
In the fourth point, Trump proposed US legal recognition of Crimea. This was a a deal-breaker for Ukraine.
In the fifth point, Trump proposed de facto recognition of four regions Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia, that Russia annexed in the ongoing war.
In the sixth point, Trump proposed the signing of US-Ukraine minerals deal.
In the seventh point, Trump proposed to lift all sanctions on Russia and resume economic and political ties to start a new US-Russia relationship.
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