Russia “categorically rejects” any thoughts of freezing the war in Ukraine, maintaining the only way forward is the ultimatum previously outlined in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “peace plan,” according to Sergei Naryshkin, director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).
“Russia categorically rejects any ‘freezing’ of the Ukrainian conflict,” Naryshkin said on Tuesday, Nov. 26, following a meeting of security and intelligence heads from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Moscow.
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He alleged that Western nations are calling for a “freeze” because they recognize Russia is “winning on all fronts.”
“Such discussions in Western capitals are tied to the fact that the strategic initiative on the battlefield belongs entirely to the Russian army,” Naryshkin said.
He claimed that Western bloc countries are “facing a fiasco” in the war in Ukraine.
“However, they will not back down. They will continue their efforts to create chaos within our [Commonwealth] states and around Russia,” Naryshkin added.
According to him, the West aims to avoid its strategic defeat while preserving what he described as the “Russophobe regime” in Kyiv.
Despite these claims, Naryshkin reported that Russia remains open to negotiations. He referred to conditions outlined by Putin in June during a meeting with the Russian Foreign Ministry.
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At that time, Putin issued an ultimatum that included Ukraine’s withdrawal from the entirety of the four (partially) occupied regions and a formal commitment not to join NATO.
Separately, five Kremlin insiders told Reuters that Putin might consider discussing a ceasefire with US President-elect Donald Trump but insists on retaining occupied Ukrainian territories and for Kyiv to abandon its NATO ambitions.
The same sources suggested Putin could agree to freeze the conflict along current front lines, negotiating over the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, while potentially withdrawing from smaller areas in Kharkiv and Mykolaiv.
However, recent US approval for Ukraine's use of ATACMS missiles on Russian territory may delay talks and harden Moscow’s stance, the insiders added.
“Putin has already said that freezing the conflict will not work in any way,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Reuters shortly after the ATACMS strikes were reported.
While Russia strongly opposes Ukraine joining NATO or hosting NATO troops, its officials expressed a willingness to discuss security guarantees for Kyiv. However, they maintained that Crimea's status, annexed by Russia in 2014, is non-negotiable.
Two Russian sources pointed to the draft agreement prepared in Istanbul in April 2022 as a possible framework for peace. Under this proposal, Ukraine would commit to neutrality in exchange for security guarantees from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
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