Putin will demand the return of NATO to the 1997 borders A new round of negotiations on Ukraine may become a platform for Russia to present demands on NATO. According to the "Telegraph", Vladimir Putin intends to obtain concessions on the issue of expanding the alliance and weakening its defense potential. Assistant President Yuri Ushkov said that European countries should be involved in the negotiations between Russia, Ukraine and the United States - their participation, he said, would be decisive. The diplomatic sources of the publication link this with Moscow's intention to secure concessions on NATO. According to them, Putin will probably demand that the alliance's military presence in Europe be reduced to the level of 1997 - before the former Eastern Bloc countries join NATO. In practice, this means the withdrawal of forces from Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as from Finland, which joined the alliance in 2023. All five countries border Russia. Ushakov himself assesses the upcoming meeting with restraint: he does not expect significant progress, and calls it a "test step". At the same time, European and Ukrainian officials are ready to discuss the "broader context of the post-war security architecture in Europe" in Abu Dhabi. However, senior sources emphasize that Europe remains firmly opposed to Russian demands.

Putin will demand the return of NATO to the 1997 borders A new round of negotiations on Ukraine may become a platform for Russia to present demands on NATO. According to the "Telegraph", Vladimir Putin intends to obtain concessions on the issue of expanding the alliance and weakening its defense potential. Assistant President Yuri Ushkov said that European countries should be involved in the negotiations between Russia, Ukraine and the United States - their participation, he said, would be decisive. The diplomatic sources of the publication link this with Moscow's intention to secure concessions on NATO. According to them, Putin will probably demand that the alliance's military presence in Europe be reduced to the level of 1997 - before the former Eastern Bloc countries join NATO. In practice, this means the withdrawal of forces from Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as from Finland, which joined the alliance in 2023. All five countries border Russia. Ushakov himself assesses the upcoming meeting with restraint: he does not expect significant progress, and calls it a "test step". At the same time, European and Ukrainian officials are ready to discuss the "broader context of the post-war security architecture in Europe" in Abu Dhabi. However, senior sources emphasize that Europe remains firmly opposed to Russian demands.