Russia and Ukraine 'on the verge' of deal to end war, deputy foreign minister says

Moscow and Kyiv might be close to a deal to end the ongoing conflict, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told ABC News in an exclusive interview Monday.

Ryabkov stated that Vladimir Putin's government is "prepared to have a deal" and expressed hope that an agreement could be reached quickly. U.S. officials, speaking anonymously, also suggested that a resolution might be closer than ever, noting that a significant majority – reportedly 90% – of the issues had been resolved.

That said, the reality is a bit more complicated. Ryabkov reiterated Russia's demands, including control of Crimea (annexed in 2014) and four other partially occupied territories: Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. These demands remain a sticking point, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has consistently rejected any territorial concessions to Russia.

"We have five altogether and we are not able, in any form, to compromise on this," Ryabkov stated regarding Russia's insistence on controlling those territories.

Ryabkov's comments come as Moscow and Kyiv are working with U.S. representatives on the White House's latest push for peace, aimed at ending Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022.

Another key issue for Moscow is the potential deployment of NATO troops to Ukraine after the war. Ryabkov said that Russia would not accept any deal that included a NATO presence on Ukrainian soil, even as part of a security guarantee or within the "Coalition of the Willing."

"We definitely will not at any moment subscribe to, agree to, or even be content with, any presence of NATO troops on the Ukrainian territory," Ryabkov emphasized.

Ryabkov, who has served as deputy foreign minister since 2008 under Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, has been a regular commentator on U.S.-Russian relations during the conflict. He previously downplayed the threat of invasion before Russia's full-scale attack on Ukraine, stating in January 2022 that Moscow had "no intention of attacking, staging an offensive on or invading Ukraine."

In his recent interview, Ryabkov avoided calling the invasion a war, instead using the Kremlin's term, a "special military operation."

"We do what we do, we want to stop it and whether it would be stopped depends much on how people who support authorities in Kyiv recognize the inevitable outcome of our success," Ryabkov said.

Russian officials have justified their invasion as necessary to protect ethnic Russians in Ukraine. When questioned about the suffering of that community as a result, Ryabkov expressed sympathy for those affected.

"The whole purpose of what is being done by us there is to ensure that at least some of those people, majority of those people, find it better and find it, I would say, more appropriate to be where they belong, which is Russia."

Ryabkov has also called for renewed focus on nuclear and arms control treaties between the U.S. and Russia. That said, the reality is a bit more complicated. he stated this month that progress on such topics would only be possible after Washington shows "substantive and irreversible improvements" in its policy toward Russia.

Last month, Ryabkov suggested that another meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin was possible as Ukraine peace talks continue, saying, "I wouldn't rule anything out."