By Charles Switzer
8:48am PDT, Apr 29, 2025
Russia's Demands for Peace
Russia firmly rejected President
Donald Trump's push for peace in Ukraine, with Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov making it clear on Monday, April 28, that Moscow would accept nothing less than a total victory, the
New York Post reported.
Lavrov insisted that President
Vladimir Putin's Russian Federation will not negotiate unless Ukraine recognizes that 20 percent of its territory, including Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia, belongs to the nation.
"The international recognition of Crimea, Sevastopol, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions as part of Russia is an imperative," Lavrov said, emphasizing that Ukraine must legally acknowledge these regions as Russian territory.
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No Concessions from Russia
Sergei Lavrov's demands were firm, and he showed no willingness to make even small concessions, such as agreeing to the return of a small, occupied portion of Kharkiv as proposed by the United States.
"All the commitments Kyiv assumes must be legally binding, contain enforcement mechanisms and be permanent," he stated.
However, Ukraine's constitution prohibits the recognition of its land as belonging to any other nation, making such a demand a nonstarter. Lavrov's words suggest that Russia's conditions for peace are far from negotiable.
Moscow's Expanded Demands According to War Analyst
Since Donald Trump's Special Envoy
Steve Witkoff began negotiating with Russia in February, Moscow has reportedly only upped its demands. Notably, Russia's desire to annex the Kherson and Zaporizhia oblasts, which was not part of Vladimir Putin's original war goals, an analyst detailed.
"The Kremlin is now explicitly demanding all of Kherson and Zaporizhia, which was not part of the 2021 demands," said
George Barros of the Institute for the Study of War. "Bottom line, the Kremlin is
rejecting Trump's proposals and articulating goals that require the war to go on or for Ukraine to surrender things for no reason. The only thing it is willing to negotiate are the terms of US capitulation and Ukrainian surrender."
Calls for Sanction Relief
As part of the peace deal it seeks, Russia has also demanded that the West, including the U.S., lift sanctions, withdraw lawsuits, cancel arrest warrants and even return Russian assets that have been frozen.
"We will also insist on obtaining solid security guarantees for the Russian Federation," Sergei Lavrov said, highlighting Russia's desire for protection from NATO and other hostile entities along its western border.
The Obstacles to Peace Talks
Sergei Lavrov further stated that Russia will not engage in peace talks with Ukraine until Kyiv changes its constitution to disavow its future NATO ambitions.
In 2019, then-President
Petro Poroshenko signed an amendment committing Ukraine to eventually join NATO and the European Union. "Russia proceeds from the premise of Kyiv's non-accession to NATO," Lavrov declared.
Additionally, Russia continues to demand the "demilitarization" of Ukraine, which has been unable to defeat Russia despite 38 months of war. However, President Donald Trump's peace proposal did not include this demand. Despite growing frustration with Russia's ongoing bombardment, Trump has
refrained from taking punitive action against Moscow for its continued intransigence.
In the wake of these developments, the rejection of Trump's peace proposal marks a significant moment in the ongoing conflict, as the Kremlin described Vladimir Putin's recent meeting with Steve Witkoff as "quite useful."
