The White House and NATO didn't immediately respond to requests for comment on the Russian proposals.
Exclusive: Putin's demand to Ukraine: give up Donbas, no NATO and no Western troops, sources say
Vladimir
Putin is demanding that Ukraine give up all of the eastern Donbas
region, renounce ambitions to join NATO, remain neutral and keep Western
troops out of the country, three sources familiar with top-level
Kremlin thinking told Reuters.
SUMMARY
- Putin demands Ukraine cede Donbas region, Russian sources say
- Russia could freeze front lines in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson
- Russia won't countenance Western peacekeeping troops in Ukraine
- Source close to Kremlin: if Kyiv refuses deal, war will go on
[. . .] 
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday
that Putin was prepared to meet Zelenskiy but that all issues had to be
worked through first and there was a question about Zelenskiy's
authority to sign a peace deal.
Putin has repeatedly raised doubts about Zelenskiy's legitimacy
as his term in office was due to expire in May 2024 but the war means
no new presidential election has yet been held. Kyiv says Zelenskiy
remains the legitimate president.
The leaders of Britain, France and Germany have said they are sceptical that Putin wants to end the war.
SECURITY GUARANTEES FOR UKRAINE
Trump's
special envoy Steve Witkoff was instrumental in paving the way for the
summit, and the latest drive for peace, according to two of the Russian
sources.
- Witkoff met Putin in the Kremlin on August 6 with Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov.
- At the meeting, Putin conveyed clearly to Witkoff that he was ready to compromise and set out the contours of what he could accept for peace, according to two Russian sources.
If
Russia and Ukraine could reach an agreement, then there are various
options for a formal deal - including a possible three-way
Russia-Ukraine-U.S. deal that is recognised by the U.N. Security
Council, one of the sources said.
Another
option is to go back to the failed 2022 Istanbul agreements, where
Russia and Ukraine discussed Ukraine's permanent neutrality in return
for security guarantees from the five permanent members of the U.N.
Security Council: Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States,
the sources added.
"There are two choices: war or peace, and if there is no peace, then there is more war," one of the people said.
Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Pravin Char
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