In early 2023, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected a private peace plan that would have recognised Russian control over Crimea, part of the Donbas and a land corridor to the peninsula. This was reported by the Financial Times on 24 October. The initiative was not an agreed proposal by the governments of the US, Ukraine or Russia, and came to a halt in February of that year.
Briefly about the main points
- The plan combined territorial concessions to Moscow with the withdrawal of its troops.
- Ukraine was promised security guarantees from NATO member states without automatic membership.
- The intermediaries claimed that Putin had demanded that Kyiv renounce its bid to join NATO.
- Zelenskyy and Andriy Yermak did not agree to the proposed terms.
- Washington has not confirmed the mandate of the private negotiating channel.
What the mediators’ initiative entailed
According to the FT’s account, Russia was to withdraw its troops from most of the territories it had seized since the start of the full-scale invasion. At the same time, Kyiv was to agree to Russia retaining control over Crimea and the part of the Donbas that Moscow controlled until February 2022.
A separate condition was that Russia be granted unimpeded land access to the Crimean Peninsula. Ukraine was offered security guarantees from the member states NATO, designed to ensure a future ceasefire and prevent the resumption of hostilities.
This mechanism did not imply Ukraine’s automatic accession to the Alliance. Separate negotiations with the US on security arrangements were also planned for Russia.
Who created the «Platforma» channel?»
Contacts began in 2022, when fears in the West grew over Russia’s possible use of tactical nuclear weapons. An American lawyer Richard Conn and investment banker Bob Foresman initially sought to reduce the risk of escalation, and subsequently began drawing up proposals to bring the war to an end.
The following were involved in the initiative Matthias Varnig — a former East German intelligence officer, businessman and long-standing acquaintance Vladimir Putin. He previously headed Nord Stream 2 AG. To liaise with the Ukrainian leadership, the group invited a film producer Oleksandr Rodnyanskyi, who had previously helped to organise the talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul.
The participants referred to this channel as «the Platform». At the same time, there was no confirmation that the administration of the then US President Joe Biden officially endorsed the actions Horse-mounted and Foresman.
An account of the Kremlin’s position and Kyiv’s reaction
In early February 2023, Varnig informed the other participants that Putin had examined the proposal in detail. According to him, the Russian president was prepared to discuss territorial demarcation, but insisted that Ukraine should not join NATO.
Varnig also claimed that the Kremlin had not objected to Ukraine’s possible membership of the European Union and was prepared to discuss other security mechanisms. This was an account of his conversation with Putin, rather than an independently confirmed official position from Moscow.
Rodnyansky presented the document to Zelenskyy and the then head of the President’s Office Andriy Yermak. According to him, they refused to make concessions, hoping that, following their successes in the Kharkiv region and on the right bank of the Kherson region, they would be able to secure more favourable terms.
Why did the communication channel cease to function?
The mediators had hoped to reach an agreement by the first anniversary of the full-scale invasion, but by February it had become clear that they would not be able to agree on the terms. According to those present, the Kremlin tried to ascertain whether Conn and Foresman were representing Washington’s position.
Following discussions between Russian and American officials, disagreements arose regarding the status of the «Platform». The mediators stated that Washington had not confirmed their mandate and considered the existing official diplomatic channels to be sufficient, after which the initiative came to an end.
Former US officials interviewed by the FT expressed doubts both about Putin’s willingness to engage in substantive negotiations and about the ability of the unofficial participants to influence the outcome of the war.
Ukraine’s position and the scope of the published data
Ukraine asserts that Crimea, the Donbas, and the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions are its internationally recognised territory, regardless of the occupation. The ‘Peace Formula’ presented by Zelenskyy in 2022 envisaged the restoration of territorial integrity and the withdrawal of Russian troops.
In October 2022, 143 states backed a UN General Assembly resolution condemning Russia’s attempt to illegally annex four Ukrainian regions. The plan described by the FT ran counter to Kyiv’s public stance.
The full text of the confidential document has not been made public. Information about it is based on an FT investigation and accounts from those involved; the proposed security guarantees were not agreed upon, and Russia has continued the war.
