Ukraine ready to make concessions on sanctions against Russia amid ongoing peace talks, demands ceasefire first
Some of the sanctions against Russia could be lifted following a potential full ceasefire, according to Ukraine's official proposal, seen by the Kyiv Independent on June 2.
Yet, the condition proposed by Ukraine is that sanctions are automatically renewed if the ceasefire agreement is broken.
Russia and Ukraine held a second round of talks in Istanbul on June 2. Kyiv presented a peace proposal that included potential easing of restrictions on Moscow, among other clauses.
During the talks in Istanbul, the Ukrainian delegation offered Moscow a complete ceasefire, an all-for-all exchange of prisoners of war (POWs), the return of children abducted by Russia, and the release of all civilians from Russian captivity.
According to the proposal, Ukraine retains its aspirations to join the EU and NATO. Kyiv also highlighted the need for security guarantees to avoid another Russian invasion.
In the meantime, frozen Russian assets must be used to rebuild Ukraine and pay reparations, the proposal seen by the Kyiv Independent read.
Contrary, the head of the Russian delegation said that a ceasefire is possible only following Ukraine's withdrawal from four of the country's regions — Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson — none of which Russia controls in full.
The West has imposed heavy sanctions on Russia since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in 2022. In spite of these measures, Moscow retains its ability to wage war, gradually advancing in several sectors of the front line and increasing its defense production.
U.S. President Donald Trump's stance on U.S. sanctions against Russia has been unclear. Trump has repeatedly threatened additional economic measures against Moscow but said he does not plan to take the step at the moment after his phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has said they are ready to vote on a bill on sanctions against Russia if peace talks over the war in Ukraine do not progress soon. The bill, introduced to the Senate in early April, would impose new penalties on Russia and slap 500% tariffs on imports from countries that buy Russian oil, petroleum products, natural gas, or uranium.
Martin Fornusek
