Russian President Vladimir Putin says he wants “eternal peace” for Ukraine. Yet, nearly five years after launching his full-scale invasion of the neighbouring country, his actions and latest demands suggest that Moscow remains far from accepting a comprehensive ceasefire, according to BBC News.
Following talks with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the Kremlin has renewed its call for a new European security framework, describing it as an “architecture of indivisible security and peace”. Behind the diplomatic language, however, lies a much broader ambition: reshaping Europe’s security arrangements in ways that serve Russia’s strategic interests.
Moscow has effectively revived its December 2021 proposals to the United States and NATO. Those demands included stopping NATO’s eastward expansion, ruling out future membership for countries such as Ukraine and Georgia, and withdrawing military infrastructure from Eastern European nations that joined the alliance after the Soviet Union collapsed. Western governments rejected the proposals as unacceptable ultimatums. Two months later, Russia invaded Ukraine.
Now, Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov has suggested that Moscow may introduce additional demands, citing what Russia considers Western attempts to weaken it strategically.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has warned that Russia’s push for a wider security debate could distract attention from the immediate need for a ceasefire. She insists that ending the fighting must come before negotiations over Europe’s broader security arrangements.
Another concern for European leaders is their absence from the negotiating table. Recent peace discussions in Abu Dhabi involved Ukraine, Russia and the United States, while Moscow has remained hostile towards Europe’s military support for Kyiv. Although Washington suggested that Putin was open to European participation in future talks, the Kremlin has yet to confirm its position.
Putin’s confidence comes despite mounting Russian battlefield losses, economic pressure and continued Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refineries.
Nevertheless, the Kremlin shows little willingness to retreat. With Washington pursuing a diplomatic breakthrough, Moscow appears determined to turn peace negotiations into an opportunity to reshape the European order, not simply end the war in Ukraine.
