Let us remind you that on Friday in Alaska, Putin met with Donald Trump at the first Russian-American summit. During almost the entire three-hour meeting, they discussed what a peace deal in Ukraine might look like, anonymous sources told Reuters.

After his meeting with Trump, Putin said he hoped the meeting was a big step toward an agreement, but neither leader disclosed details of the talks.

Putin's conditions

• Ukraine must surrender the entire Donbas region (Donetsk and Lugansk).
• Ukraine must renounce membership in NATO.
• Ukraine must remain neutral.
• Ukraine must prohibit the presence of Western troops on its territory.

Reuters is now revealing the outlines of what the Kremlin would like to see in a possible peace deal to end the war.

Russian sources said Putin had compromised on the territorial demands he made in June 2024, which asked Kiev to cede four areas that Moscow considers part of Russia: Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine - which make up Donbas - plus Kherson and Zaporozhye in the south.

Putin's"compromises"

As reported by Reuters, Putin is also ready for, let's call it, compromises, namely:

• Stopping the front line in Kherson and Zaporozhye regions.
• Returning the small occupied parts of Kharkiv, Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

Kiev rejected those demands and called it a flat surrender.

Ukrainian President Zelensky repeatedly rejected the idea of withdrawing from internationally recognized Ukrainian territory as part of the agreement, and added that Donbas serves as a fortress preventing Russian advances deeper into Ukraine.

- If we are talking about withdrawing from the east, we cannot do that. It is a question of the survival of our country, which includes the strongest defense lines - the message from Kiev.

Zelensky added that it is not up to Russia to decide on NATO membership.

Neither the White House nor the NATO alliance have yet announced the Russian proposals.

Russian forces currently control a fifth of Ukraine, an area roughly the size of the US state of Ohio.

Sources close to the Kremlin point out that the summit in Alaska was the best opportunity for peace since the beginning of the war, because specific discussions were held on Russian conditions, and Putin showed his willingness to make concessions.

One of those sources says that the message conveyed to Trump is a message of compromise, that Putin is ready for peace.

The sources warn that it is not clear to Moscow whether Ukraine will be ready to cede the rest of Donbas and that the war will continue if it does not. It is also unclear whether the United States will recognize Russian-held Ukrainian territory, they added.