In 2022, Russia suggested that Ukraine sign a peace treaty, the unilateral terms of which "meant the actual capitulation of Kyiv".
This was stated by Radio Free Europe, citing the relevant draft treaty.
Negotiations with Russia: how Zelensky's rhetoric changed during the great warThe infographic illustrates how Volodymyr Zelensky's position on negotiations with Russia evolved during the full-scale war. The document, dated March 7, 2022, was titled "Treaty on the Settlement of the Situation in Ukraine and Ukraine's Neutrality." Russia presented it to the Ukrainian side during the third round of negotiations in Bialowieza Forest in Belarus.
It consisted of 18 articles addressing issues of Ukraine's neutrality, borders, humanitarian matters (language, religion, history), as well as the lifting of sanctions against Russia.
According to media reports, the treaty included the following points:
Russia demanded that the Ukrainian army be reduced to 50,000 personnel and limited to a maximum of four ships, 55 helicopters, and 300 tanks;
Ukraine was offered "not to develop, produce, purchase, or deploy any missile weapons of any type of basing with a range greater than 250 km" on its territory. Russia also reserved the right to prohibit Ukraine from "any other types of weapons" in the future;
Ukraine was required to "recognize the independence of the 'DPR' and 'LPR' within the administrative boundaries and assume the costs for restoring the infrastructure of Donbas, which has been destroyed since 2014;
The Kremlin demanded the cancellation of all sanctions – both Ukrainian and international;
Moreover, Russia insisted on granting the Russian language the status of a state language and restoring all property rights of the UOC-MP.
"Finally, the authors of the draft demanded to 'lift and refrain from imposing any bans on symbols associated in states with victory over Nazism', which essentially meant legalizing Soviet and communist symbols in Ukraine again," the publication claims.
It is noted that the draft treaty was handed to journalists by a Ukrainian source familiar with the negotiations, "while a Russian source close to the negotiations confirmed its authenticity".
"If the Ukrainian authorities had accepted these terms, it would have turned Ukraine into a puppet entity, with a fictitious neutral status, a tiny toothless army, without protection from NATO countries and without any chance of regaining control over Crimea or Donbas, while having to recognize the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk regions in their entirety, as well as large territories that were still under Kyiv's control at that time," journalists stated.
Recall that recently, media reported that Ukraine and Russia are engaged in confidential negotiations to agree on possible concessions and compromises.
Earlier, President Zelensky voiced the desired timeline for ending the war with the Russian Federation.