BERLIN / ABU DHABI — Russian negotiators have laid out sweeping and aggressive conditions during informal peace talks in Abu Dhabi aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, according to a report published by the German daily Bild on Friday.
The proposals—which were shared with European representatives—extend far beyond the immediate territorial dispute in Ukraine, seeking to fundamentally reshape the security architecture of the European continent. Moscow’s terms echo long-standing grievances regarding NATO’s eastern enlargement, demanding sweeping rollbacks of Western military alliances.
Territorial and Military Demands on Ukraine
Under the leaked proposals, Russia would retain formal control over all currently occupied Ukrainian territory while also absorbing the entirety of the Donbas region. This would require Kyiv to cede the remaining sections of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts still under Ukrainian military control.
Additional key provisions concerning Ukraine include:
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Permanent Neutrality: Ukraine would be constitutionally barred from ever joining NATO, though the text leaves open the theoretical possibility of future European Union membership.
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Demilitarized Ports: Key southern maritime hubs, including Odesa and Mykolaiv, would be stripped of their naval capabilities and barred from hosting military vessels, backed by separate navigation guarantees for the Black and Baltic seas.
Sweeping Security Rollbacks Across Europe
The scope of the Abu Dhabi proposals goes significantly further, targeting broader regional defense arrangements:
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Baltic and Nordic Rollbacks: Moscow is demanding a complete ban on NATO military bases in the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, alongside a requirement for Finland to revoke its NATO membership and return to its pre-accession neutral status.
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Moldova Restructuring: The plan envisions reshaping Moldova into a federal republic comprising the central territory alongside the breakaway regions of Transnistria and Gagauzia. Should Moldova proceed with EU accession, Transnistria and Gagauzia would be granted the right to hold referendums on independence.
Moscow’s Proposed Concessions
In exchange for these sweeping concessions, the Russian negotiating team has offered limited security adjustments, proposing to withdraw nuclear weapons from neighboring Belarus and forgo the permanent stationing of intermediate-range missiles on Belarusian territory.
The latest disclosures come as international diplomats scramble to forge a credible framework for peace, with European leaders fiercely debating how to secure a seat at the negotiating table amid competing backchannel diplomacy.