Russia will demand “ironclad” guarantees in any Ukraine peace agreement, including Kyiv’s exclusion from NATO and a commitment to neutrality, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said in remarks published on Monday.
US President Donald Trump is seeking Russian President Vladimir Putin’s support for a proposed 30-day ceasefire that Ukraine has accepted, though Putin insists key conditions must be met. Trump is expected to speak with Putin this week about ending the three-year war, US envoy Steve Witkoff told CNN after what he called a “positive” meeting with the Russian leader in Moscow.
In an interview with Russian media outlet Izvestia, Grushko made no mention of the ceasefire proposal but reiterated Moscow’s firm stance on a long-term peace treaty.
“We will demand that ironclad security guarantees become part of this agreement,” Izvestia quoted Grushko as saying. “Part of these guarantees should be the neutral status of Ukraine, the refusal of NATO countries to accept it into the alliance.”
He also reaffirmed Russia’s categorical opposition to NATO deploying observers or peacekeepers in Ukraine, rejecting recent suggestions from Britain, France, and Australia about sending monitoring forces.
“It does not matter under what label NATO contingents were to be deployed on Ukrainian territory: be it the European Union, NATO, or in a national capacity,” Grushko said. “If they appear there, it means they are in the conflict zone, with all the consequences for these contingents as parties to the conflict.”
Grushko noted that only after a peace agreement is reached could discussions on a civilian observer mission take place.
“We can talk about unarmed observers, a civilian mission that would monitor the implementation of individual aspects of this agreement, or guarantee mechanisms,” he said. “In the meantime, it’s just hot air.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said in remarks published Sunday that the deployment of peacekeeping forces in Ukraine is a matter for Kyiv to decide, not Moscow.
Grushko countered that Europe must recognise the necessity of excluding Ukraine from NATO and banning foreign military deployments in the country.
“Then the security of Ukraine and the entire region in a broader sense will be ensured, since one of the root causes of the conflict will be eliminated,” he said.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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