‘Sham diplomacy’ : Putin’s first peace treaty was outrageous
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The first peace proposal put forward by Russia included conditions heavily favorable to Moscow, bordering on an effective Ukrainian surrender.
These revelations were reported by the investigative outlet Systema, which obtained an initial draft of the peace treaty that was proposed in the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. A former U.S. ambassador to Russia described the treaty as “sham diplomacy.”
Systema, a branch of the U.S.-based company Radio Liberty, reported that these findings reveal the Kremlin’s true intentions, suggesting that the negotiations were merely a pretext to bring an end to the conflict.
In March 2022, the Ukrainian delegation received Russia’s proposal, which demanded a 20% reduction in Ukraine’s military forces along with cuts to the number of warships, helicopters, and tanks.
Moscow also insisted that Kyiv relinquish Crimea and the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which are partially occupied by Russian forces.
John J. Sullivan, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Russia from February 2020 to September 2022, had been involved in diplomatic efforts in the months leading up to the Russian invasion.
“The Russians gave us two draft treaties, one for the United States and Russia and one for NATO and Russia. That was just sham diplomacy; they gave us Russian text, not translated and wanted to negotiate in 48 hours in Geneva,” he wrote in his book Midnight in Moscow.