Russia has reportedly demanded that Finland leave NATO as part of a series of conditions presented during negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, according to German newspaper Bild. The reported proposals also include restrictions on NATO’s military presence in the Baltic states and territorial concessions that would strengthen Moscow’s position in Ukraine.
Bild reported on Friday that Russian negotiators had presented the demands during talks in Abu Dhabi. Citing information about an unofficial Russian proposal, the newspaper said Moscow wanted Finland to withdraw from NATO and for the alliance to be prevented from establishing military bases in the Baltic states.
The reported demands extend beyond the future of Ukraine’s occupied territories and raise questions about Russia’s wider ambitions for European security. According to Bild, the proposal originated from within the circle of Russian President Vladimir Putin and was presented to European representatives.
On the territorial issue, Moscow is reportedly seeking to retain all Ukrainian territory currently under Russian occupation, while also demanding control of the entire Donbas region. The proposal would also require Ukraine to remain permanently outside military alliances, effectively ruling out future NATO membership. However, Ukraine would still be allowed to pursue membership of the European Union, Bild reported.
Russia has repeatedly argued that Western countries made promises not to expand NATO eastwards. Moscow has used this claim to challenge the alliance’s enlargement, although NATO has maintained that membership decisions are made by individual countries and the alliance.
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Finland’s membership has become a particularly sensitive issue for Russia since the country applied to join NATO in May 2022, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The move ended decades of Finnish military non-alignment and brought Finland under NATO’s collective defence arrangements.
The reported Russian demands have been firmly rejected by Finnish government ministers, who say the country’s NATO membership is not a subject for negotiation with Moscow.
Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen of the National Coalition Party said Russia had been making similar demands for years, including in 2021, when Moscow called for restrictions on NATO’s activities and enlargement.
He argued that Russia wanted NATO members to limit their own security arrangements in ways that would serve Russian interests.
“Such matters are in no way a matter for negotiation. Russia knows that. This is absolutely outrageous to even suggest such a thing,” Häkkänen said.
The defence minister also expressed doubts about the prospects of the Abu Dhabi negotiations, suggesting that Russia was not approaching the discussions in good faith. He said Moscow appeared interested in expanding the negotiations beyond the war in Ukraine to include wider restrictions on NATO and changes to Europe’s security arrangements.
Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, also of the National Coalition Party, said Russia’s position on Finland’s NATO membership was not surprising. However, she stressed that decisions about membership belonged to Finland and the alliance, not Moscow.
“It is clear as day that it is a matter for Finland and the alliance to decide on Nato membership. This is also how we will act,” Valtonen said.
Valtonen also pointed to Russia’s reported attempt to bring broader European security arrangements into the negotiations as a sign that Moscow might not be in a hurry to reach an agreement.
Despite the concerns surrounding the reported proposal, she said diplomatic efforts to end the war must continue. She called on Russia to agree to a ceasefire, noting that Ukraine had been ready to accept one.
If confirmed, the demands reported by Bild would represent an attempt to use negotiations over Ukraine to pursue wider changes to Europe’s security arrangements, including the status of countries that have chosen to join NATO.
