As US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin prepare for a summit, it has been reported that Russia has demanded Ukraine's eastern territories as a condition for a ceasefire with Ukraine.
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on August 8 (local time), Russia conveyed to the United States a proposal that it would agree to a ceasefire if Ukraine handed over the 'Donbas' region, which includes Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.
This proposal was communicated directly by President Putin to Steve Witkoff, the US Special Envoy for the Middle East, who visited Russia on August 6 to mediate the ceasefire.
President Putin stated that he would agree to a ceasefire if Ukraine ceded the Donbas territories and if this fact was internationally recognized, and he set the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Donetsk as a precondition.
President Trump, who is mediating the ceasefire, is scheduled to hold a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, United States, on August 15, and attention is focused on what kind of agreement the two leaders will reach regarding the ceasefire proposal, which includes demands for territorial concessions.
If this plan is realized, Russia would gain control over Donetsk and Luhansk, collectively known as Donbas, as well as Crimea, which it forcibly annexed in 2014.
Russia has completely occupied Luhansk and currently controls most of Donetsk. Ukrainian forces are holding out by using major cities in western Donetsk as defensive strongholds.
It has been reported that after receiving this proposal from President Putin, the United States began preparing for the summit between President Donald Trump and President Putin.
From August 6, the United States held three days of discussions with Ukraine and European countries regarding Russia's proposal.
On the first day, President Trump, who participated in a telephone briefing, reportedly commented that while President Putin's proposal is not a 'breakthrough,' it is attractive enough to warrant preparations for a summit.
On the third day of discussions, Special Envoy Witkoff explained that Russia's proposal consists of two stages: in the first stage, Ukraine withdraws from Donetsk and the front line is frozen; in the next stage, Presidents Putin and Trump agree on a final peace plan, after which negotiations would be held with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
However, according to participants in the discussions, officials from Europe and Ukraine expressed significant concerns about Russia's proposal.
They attempted to clarify key points related to the proposal, such as what Russia intends to do with the southern regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, which it currently controls, and whether Russia would freeze the current front line or withdraw its troops completely, but did not receive clear answers.
After invading Ukraine in February 2022, Russia declared that it had annexed not only Donbas, including Donetsk and Luhansk, but also parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, making all four regions part of its own territory.
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