When American and Russian officials take their seats to begin negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine, each will come armed with a list of concessions.

For Donald Trump’s team of top diplomats, the goal is simple: end the “horrible, bloody war”.

But for Vladimir Putin, the talks in Saudi Arabia, which will be the most significant meeting of the two sides since Moscow’s full-scale invasion, present a unique opportunity to expand his list of demands.

Ukraine

The Russian president has called for Ukraine to withdraw its troops from the four regions that Russia annexed in September 2022 and renounce its bid to join Nato as part of any prospective peace deal.

Addressing the nation before launching his invasion, Mr Putin pledged to demilitarise Ukraine by embarking on a “special military operation” in the region.

Putin has previously insisted that Ukraine must reduce its military capacity to prevent it posing a threat to Russia, which could lead to restrictions on long-range missiles, heavy weapons and Western support.

As part of the demilitarisation demand, Russia may even ask for a reduction in or full withdrawal of Nato forces from Poland, Romania and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Above all else, accepting Ukraine as a member of Nato would almost certainly be a deal breaker for Putin, who has called for a legally binding commitment preventing the country ever being allowed to join the alliance.