**Russia to Discuss Ceasefire in Ukraine with US**
Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to talk about a ceasefire in Ukraine with the incoming US President Donald Trump. However, he says Ukraine must give up its plans to join NATO and accept Russian control over parts of eastern Ukraine.
According to Reuters, Putin wants to freeze the conflict along current front lines. This would mean that Russia keeps most of the four regions it already controls: Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. The Kremlin currently controls 70-80% of these areas, with Ukraine controlling around 10,000 square miles.
**Russian Demands**
Russia wants to keep Crimea, which it annexed in 2014. Putin has said that any peace deal must be favorable to Russia. The Kremlin is opposed to NATO membership for Ukraine and the presence of foreign troops on Ukrainian soil. Russian officials have also suggested that they might consider giving up smaller occupied areas in the Kharkiv and Mykolaiv regions, but only if it reflects the “realities” on the ground.
**Ukraine’s Stance**
Ukraine has rejected Putin’s demands and says any peace talks should be based on its 10-point peace formula. This includes a Russian withdrawal from Ukraine and the country’s full territorial integrity and sovereignty. Ukrainian officials have said that they might consider returning some territories through diplomacy, but not because of military defeat.
**Trump as Peace Broker**
US President-elect Donald Trump has positioned himself as a potential peace broker in the conflict. However, his plans for ending the war are unclear. Reuters reports that Trump’s plan might involve postponing Ukraine’s NATO membership for 20 years, freezing the front line, and establishing a demilitarized zone in eastern Ukraine manned by European troops.
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