Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said Tuesday that Russia’s demands in Ukraine peace talks are too big and that the Kremlin’s lack of response may indicate Moscow is not ready to end the war.
“I greatly appreciate the efforts of the United States, appreciate the efforts of Ukraine to demonstrate all the necessary flexibility and diplomacy in pursuit of the peace process. I believe that the Ukrainians sincerely want this terrible war to finally end and stop tormenting the Ukrainian people,” Nausėda said in an interview with the Žinių Radijas radio.
“However, so far we have seen a very limited response from the Kremlin, which does not allow us to be completely optimistic,” he added.
The comments came after another round of negotiations in the United States, where President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Officials said Russia and Ukraine still disagree over the future of the Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine and the control of the Donbas region in the east, which is partly occupied by Russian forces.
Nausėda said the United States has leverage in negotiations with Russia, but called Moscow’s demands “unreasonable”.
“They may lead to a situation where one side will simply find these conditions unacceptable: either, if the conditions are favourable to Russia, they will be unacceptable to Ukraine, or vice versa,” he said. “Therefore, I am still cautious and quite cautious about the outcome of this possible process.”
The president said he believes the coming weeks will reveal whether Russia genuinely wants peace and is ready to engage in serious negotiations.
Under the current plan, revised after weeks of US-Ukrainian talks, the war would halt along current frontlines in the eastern Donbas region and establish a demilitarised zone. Russia, however, has yet to agree to any terms and has demanded territorial concessions. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said his forces will seize the rest of the Ukrainian territory he has proclaimed as Russian.
Ukrainian troops, outnumbered and exhausted, have struggled to hold back a Russian advance that has intensified since the autumn.
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