As the information frenzy surrounding the ongoing Ukraine peace deal talks intensifies, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a series of comments on November 27 designed to cut through some of the haze and lay Russia’s demands a bit more clearly.

Putin said that the US-backed 28-point peace plan (28PPP) for Ukraine could serve as a “foundation for future negotiations,” once again highlighting the Kremlin’s strong preference for this version – currently one of at least five other versions promoted variously by Europe and Trump among others. The most recent addition was a hard line principled European Parliament’s resolution on November 27.

Getting an agreement will be hard. While the EU resolution says that Europe will never recognise Russia’s occupation of Ukraine’s territory, Putin expressly said any agreement must include international recognition of Russia’s sovereignty over Crimea and the four Ukrainian annexed regions.

Speaking at a press conference in Bishkek following the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) summit, Putin repeatedly outlined the conditions under which Moscow would consider ending hostilities, while casting doubt on the legitimacy of Ukraine's leadership.

“You are right, this is one of the key points,” Putin said, when asked whether recognition of Russia’s new regions should be addressed in peace talks. “This matters because it’s one thing when decisions are recognised, and, say, certain territories are under Russian sovereignty. If the agreement is violated, it will be considered an attack on the Russian Federation, with all the ensuing retaliatory measures.”

According to TASS, Putin confirmed that Russia had received the US proposal following a visit to Alaska, after which “negotiations took place in Geneva between the American delegation and the Ukrainian delegation.”

This confirms the information on the lead up to the appearance of the US plan revealed in leaked phone conversations between Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s top foreign policy advisor and separately Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, Kirill Dmitriev published by Bloomberg, as well as the timeline of events until the plan went public on November 18.

Putin dismissed the phone conversations as potentially fake, warning that unauthorised publication constitutes a criminal offence under Russian law.

Putin said the 28 points were later divided into four thematic blocks and conveyed to the Kremlin.

“In general, we agree that this can be the basis for future agreements,” Putin said. However, he added that a legal agreement with Ukraine remains “practically impossible” because of the Zelensky government’s decision to postpone presidential elections, which, according to Putin, rendered the Ukrainian president illegitimate. Putin has questioned Zelenskiy’s legitimacy on several occasions, arguing that after his presidential term expired in May, the Speaker of the Rada should have taken over as the interim war-time president. The Ukrainian constitution bars elections while the country is under martial law.

“Signing documents with the Ukrainian leadership is pointless,” Putin said, taking a hardline again after previously suggesting he was willing to negotiate directly with the Ukrainian president. “We need our decisions to be recognised by the major international players. This matters.”

The Russian leader also dismissed European concerns about further military escalation, while offering to codify Moscow’s intentions. Last week, the German intelligence service warned that Russia might attack Nato in 2029.

“We were never going to [attack Europe], but if they want to hear it from us — well, come on, we’ll put it on the record. No questions asked,” Putin said. “Nevertheless, if this is promoted in the public consciousness, if they have frightened their citizens and want to hear that we have no aggressive plans for Europe, please, we are ready to record this in any way.”

Putin claimed Moscow frequently receives informal offers of a ceasefire, but said that any pause would require Ukrainian withdrawal from occupied territories first. According to the latest EU resolution, Brussels has returned to its position that negotiations can only begin after a ceasefire is imposed. The Kremlin, reluctant to give up its momentum and allow the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) to regroup and resupply, insists the fighting must continue and a ceasefire will come at the end of negotiations, not the beginning.

“If [Ukraine’s forces] don’t leave, we’ll achieve it militarily,” Putin said, citing what he described as positive momentum on the front lines for Russian forces and the recent capture of several more towns in eastern Ukraine.

He also rejected the offer of rejoining the G8 contained in Trump’s 28-point plan under current circumstances, saying, “I can’t even imagine how we’d attend a G8 summit now.”

Russia was ejected from the G8 following its invasion of Ukraine, but since then Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called the body “irrelevant” and scoffed at the idea that Russia would like to return to it. The invasion of Ukraine means a permanent break with the Global North and Putin’s big beat on a Global South Century. Russia is now fully focused on building up new Global Emerging Markets Institutions (GEMIs), and the BRICS+ and G20 in particular.

Moscow expects a US delegation in Moscow in the first half of next week to continue talks. The Russian side will be represented by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who led the talks that began in Riyadh in February.

“We are ready to work with the American administration to address all issues related to strategic stability,” Putin said, pointedly failing to include Europe in that comment.