Putin is ready to freeze the war at the current front line on the condition that Ukraine renounces NATO.

Officials close to the Kremlin told Reuters that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is reportedly ready to discuss with Donald Trump a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine and freezing the war in place. The “separation” of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions will probably be discussed during the negotiations. In return, Russia may be ready to withdraw from the small areas of territory it holds in the Kharkiv and Mykolaiv regions. But “the future of Crimea is not up for discussion.”

Putin’s conditions also include Ukraine refusing NATO membership and Alliance troops being stationed on its territory. But the Kremlin is “open to discussing security guarantees for Kyiv.” In addition, Russia may demand that Ukraine limit the size of its armed forces and undertake not to restrict the use of the Russian language. Putin could present such an agreement to Russians as “a victory that ensured the protection of the Russian-speaking population in eastern Ukraine and protected the land bridge to Crimea.”