Moscow Discusses the Future of Latvia at Ukraine Negotiations

Kremlin representatives demanded Finland's withdrawal from NATO and also expressed support for the alliance's abandonment of military bases in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. All these points were conveyed to the EU representatives present in the Emirates, reports Bild. At the same time, the conditions expressed by Russian negotiators in the UAE are just one of the initiatives being discussed in unofficial circles. Several competing groups of intermediaries are operating from the Russian side, and it remains unclear whose ideas are being supported by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Bild reminds. Moscow's demands also concerned Moldova, which is not a NATO member. Russian representatives proposed a plan to reformat this state into a federation consisting of Moldovan territories, Gagauzia, and Transnistria. The latter has been a de facto self-proclaimed state, not recognized by any UN member, and is not under the control of Chișinău since 1991. In the event of the country's accession to the EU, Transnistria and Gagauzia should have the opportunity to hold referendums on independence. Ukraine is required to cede the controlled parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in exchange for peace, abandon NATO membership, demilitarize the ports in Mykolaiv and Odesa, and also conclude separate agreements on freedom of navigation in the Black and Baltic Seas. In exchange for all the listed demands concerning six European countries, Kremlin representatives proposed to remove nuclear weapons from Belarus, abandon the deployment of Russian medium-range missiles there, and withdraw Russian Armed Forces units from Transnistria. The press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, stated that the Russian side did not demand Finland or any other country to withdraw from NATO in Abu Dhabi. "I am not aware of this. No, it was not put forward. This was certainly not discussed," Peskov's words were quoted by RBC. Finland is one of the last two countries to join NATO. The Scandinavian country joined in April 2023, and the share of supporters of this decision in Finnish society significantly increased immediately after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The North Atlantic alliance has not known precedents for member countries withdrawing from the bloc in its nearly 80-year history; only two countries, France and Greece, temporarily suspended their participation in its military component but later restored full membership, writes The Moscow Times.