Bild reported on 13 November that the demand was passed to European Union representatives present at a multilateral meeting in Abu Dhabi. The tabloid said Moscow also proposed that NATO abandon plans to station military bases in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and that Ukraine be given non-aligned status and drop its bid to join the alliance.
Dmitry Peskov, press secretary to the Russian president, told reporters that Russia had made no such demand. "I am not aware of this. No, [such a proposal] was not put forward. This was definitely not discussed," Interfax quoted him as saying.
Finnish Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen, speaking to reporters in comments carried by Yle, described the situation as a test of the resolve of the United States and Europe. He said Russia appeared to be widening its demands: the terms now concern not only the war in Ukraine but also restrictions on NATO and its retreat.
"Russia wants European NATO member states to limit their operations in Russia's interests, and such issues are not subject to discussion," Häkkänen said. Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen stressed that decisions on Finland's NATO membership are made by Finland itself and by the alliance.
The Moscow Times, citing Bild, reported that the conditions voiced in the UAE are only one of the initiatives under discussion in informal circles. Several competing groups of intermediaries are operating on the Russian side in parallel, and it is not yet known whose ideas Vladimir Putin supports.
Finland joined NATO in April 2023, becoming the alliance's 31st member. The country applied shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. The length of Russia's land border with NATO countries doubled as a result: the Finnish-Russian border runs about 1,300 kilometres.
Accounts diverge: Bild maintains that Russia demanded Finland's exit from NATO and the alliance's abandonment of bases in the Baltics; Peskov denies this, saying no such proposals were put forward. Häkkänen, for his part, says Russia is expanding its demands but neither confirms nor denies the specific point about Finland.