“Crimea” and “Language” and land control … items to end the war between Russia and Ukraine

Two familiar sources said that Russia will abandon small pockets occupied in Ukraine, while Kiev will abandon areas of its territory in the east of the country that Moscow was unable to seize, according to the peace proposals discussed by the Russian Presidents, Vladimir Putin, and American Donald Trump, at their summit in Alaska.

This was repeated one day after the two presidents met at the Airways Air Force base, which is the first meeting between an American president and Putin, since before the conflict erupted in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Folodimir Zellinski is scheduled to leave for Washington today, Monday, to discuss with Trump a possible settlement of the comprehensive war that Putin made in February 2022.

Although the summit failed to reach an agreement to a ceasefire, Trump said in an interview with Sean Hanity from Fox News, he discussed with Putin the transfer of land ownership and security guarantees of Ukraine. He added, “We agreed greatly.”

He said, “I think we are very close to reaching an agreement,” noting that “Ukraine must agree to that,” but he added, “Maybe they will say no.”

The two sources, who asked not to be identified to discuss sensitive issues, said that their knowledge of Putin’s proposals is often based on discussions between leaders in Europe, the United States and Ukraine, noting that it is not complete.

For his part, Trump, Zelinski and European leaders, briefed on the summit discussions early on Saturday, while it was not yet clear whether the proposals Putin submitted were an opening maneuver to be a starting point for negotiations, or similar to “a final offer that is not subject to discussion.”

Great challenges

In the face of the matter, at least some demands would represent major challenges to the Ukrainian leadership to accept it, as Putin’s offer excludes the ceasefire until a comprehensive agreement is reached, which will be submitted to Zelinski’s main demand, whose country is exposed to daily bombing of Russian -style planes and ballistic missiles.

The two sources said that, according to the proposed Russian agreement, Kiev will be completely withdrawn from the eastern regions of Donetsk and Logansk, in exchange for a Russian pledge to freeze the front in the Southern Jabson and Southern regions.

Ukraine has already rejected any withdrawal from Ukrainian lands such as the Donetsk region, where its forces, which Kiev says, are holed up to constitute a basic defensive structure to prevent Russian attacks in the depth of its territory.

The two sources stated that Russia will be ready to restore relatively small spaces of Ukrainian lands that it occupied in the northern Sumi and northeast of Kharkiv.

Russia controls the pockets in the Sumi and Carkif regions, with a total area of about 440 square kilometers, according to the project of drawing the battlefield maps in Ukraine. In turn, Ukraine controls about 6,600 square kilometers of Donbas, which includes the Donetsk and Logansk regions, and is demanded by Russia.

“Crimea” and penalties

Although the Americans did not explain this, the two sources said that they know that Putin is also seeking, at the very least, to the official recognition of Russian sovereignty over the Crimea that Moscow seized from Ukraine in 2014.

It was not clear whether this means recognition by the American government or – for example – all Western powers and Ukraine. Kyiv and its European allies refuse to officially recognize Moscow’s sovereignty over the peninsula.

The two sources said that Putin also expects a set of sanctions imposed on Russia at least. However, they were unable to determine whether this applies to US sanctions as well as European.

The two sources stated that Ukraine will also be prevented from joining the NATO (NATO), although Putin seemed open to Ukraine obtaining a kind of security guarantees.

However, they added that it is not clear what it means in practice. European leaders said that Trump discussed the security guarantees of Ukraine during their conversation the day before yesterday, and they also presented the idea of guarantees such as “Article 5” outside the NATO.

NATO is any attack on one of its members an attack on everyone, according to the fifth item of Article Five. And joining the alliance is a strategic goal of Kiev stipulated in the country’s constitution.

Russian and church

The two sources said that Russia will also demand the granting of the Russian language an official situation in parts of Ukraine, or throughout the country, in addition to the right of the Russian Orthodox Church to work freely.

The Ukrainian security apparatus accuses the church associated with Moscow of inciting the Russian war in Ukraine, by spreading propaganda supporting Russia and accommodating spies, which the church that says it has cut off ecclesiastical relations with Moscow.

Ukraine has issued a law prohibiting religious organizations associated with Russia, which is considered one of them. However, it has not yet started applying the ban.