Bild says Russia demands Finland leave NATO in peace proposal

Russia has reportedly demanded that Finland leave NATO as part of a proposed settlement to end the war in Ukraine, Yle reports, citing the German newspaper Bild.

Russian negotiators presented the demands during talks in Abu Dhabi, according to Bild. The newspaper says the informal proposals were presented to representatives of European countries and came from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle. They reach beyond Ukraine’s borders and envisage a new European security order, Bild reports.

Under the proposals, Russia would retain all Ukrainian territory it currently occupies and gain control of the entire Donbas region. Ukraine would also have to give up the parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that it still controls.

The ports of Odesa and Mykolaiv would be demilitarised and barred from use as naval bases. Separate arrangements would guarantee free navigation in the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea.

Ukraine would be required to remain permanently outside military alliances, ruling out NATO membership while leaving open the possibility of joining the European Union. The proposals would also ban NATO military bases in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and require Finland to return to its position before joining NATO.

Moldova would become a federal republic comprising its central territory, Transnistria and Gagauzia. If Moldova joined the EU, Transnistria and Gagauzia could hold independence referendums.

In return, Russia would offer to withdraw its nuclear weapons from Belarus and refrain from deploying intermediate-range missiles there, Bild reports.