Russia speaks again of negotiating on its own terms — ISW

Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko said that Moscow is open to negotiations with Kyiv, but on its own terms. They were previously voiced by dictator Vladimir Putin.

This was reported by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Russia's negotiations with Ukraine

Matvienko said that Russia is open to compromises in negotiations with Ukraine, but will strictly adhere to the terms that were agreed upon during the talks in Istanbul in March 2022. 

"The partial agreement that emerged from the Ukraine-Russia talks in Istanbul in March 2022 stipulated that Ukraine would be a permanently neutral state that could not join NATO and imposed restrictions on the Ukrainian military similar to those imposed by the Treaty of Versailles on Germany after World War I, limiting the size of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to 85,000 soldiers," the ISW report said.

The demands that Russia made in Istanbul were largely detailed versions of the conditions Putin had put forward months before the full-scale invasion. Among them were the "demilitarization" of Ukraine and the guarantee of its neutral status.

Analysts believe that senior Russian officials are likely to make similar statements to domestic and foreign audiences in the coming weeks.

ISW notes that the reference by Russian officials to the conditions put forward by Putin indicates his confidence in the possibility of a military victory over Ukraine, despite the significant losses of the Russian army.

To recap, the head of the Come Back Alive Foundation, Taras Chmut, believes that the war is unlikely to end in 2025, but that active negotiations may begin.

However, earlier, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban suggested that the war in Ukraine could end in 2025.