Russian President Vladimir Putin said that ending the war in Ukraine is likely possible if Western leaders make a written commitment to stop NATO's eastward expansion and lift some of the sanctions against Russia.
This is reported by Reuters, UNN reports.
Details
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated that he wants to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II, and in recent days has expressed growing frustration with Putin, warning on Tuesday that the Russian leader is "playing with fire" by refusing to engage in ceasefire talks with Kyiv.
After more than two hours of talks with Trump last week, Putin said he had agreed to work on a memorandum outlining a peace deal with Ukraine, including a ceasefire timeline.
Russia says it is currently working on its own version of the memorandum and cannot estimate how long it will take.
Kyiv and European governments accuse Moscow of stalling, while Russian troops advance in eastern Ukraine.
Putin is ready for peace, but not at any cost
Three Russian sources said Putin wants to obtain a "written" commitment from major Western powers not to expand the US-led NATO alliance to the east. This position of the Russian Federation formally excludes membership in the Alliance of Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and some countries that were once part of the USSR for some time.
Russia also wants Ukraine to be neutral, some Western sanctions to be lifted; there is also the issue of frozen Russian sovereign assets in the West and "protection of Russian-speaking citizens in Ukraine," three sources said.
The first source said that if Putin realizes that he cannot reach a peace agreement on his own terms, he will try to show the Ukrainians and Europeans with military victories that "peace tomorrow will be even more painful."
The Kremlin did not respond to a request for comment on the Reuters report.
Addition
Putin and Russian officials have repeatedly stated that any peace agreement should aim to address the "root causes" of the conflict - this is in line with the Kremlin's traditional rhetoric in the context of NATO enlargement and Western support for Ukraine.
Kyiv has repeatedly stated that Russia should not be given a veto over its aspirations to join the NATO alliance.
Ukraine says it needs strong security guarantees from the West to help it deter any future attack by Russia.
NATO has also previously stated that it will not change its "open door" policy just because Moscow demands it.
Reminder
The NATO Secretary General stated that the Alliance will continue to support Ukraine so that it can defend itself now and prevent aggression in the future.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is increasingly annoying the White House.
Donald Trump said that Putin is "playing with fire", hinting at the consequences for Russia.
Earlier, UNN also wrote that there is concern in Europe that the US role in the NATO alliance is weakening.