Russia’s Demands in Abu Dhabi: Donbas, Finland’s NATO Exit, and Baltics Bases

Russia presented its conditions for a "new European security arrangement" during informal talks in Abu Dhabi, demanding the Donbas, Finland's withdrawal from NATO, and the removal of alliance bases in the Baltics, according to Bild. The talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the US took place Tuesday and Wednesday, with European representatives indirectly involved. Moscow's plan also requires Ukraine to never join NATO, though EU membership wouldn't be excluded, and proposes demilitarizing Mykolaiv and Odesa. Russia would gain occupied territories and all of Donbas, while Moldova would become a federation including Gagauzia and Transnistria. In exchange, Moscow offered withdrawing nuclear weapons from Belarus and troops from Transnistria, though the Kremlin denied these proposals.