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This is an overview of the CURD Plan. The CURD Plan stands for the Crimea-Ukraine-Russia-Donbas peace plan, with "Donbas" representing all separatist-occupied and Russia-annexed territories. For the details of the Plan, please go to the Book section.

The goal of the CURD Plan is to end the Russo-Ukrainian War in a way that allows both sides to declare their own victory. From this goal, the Plan states two Propositions. From the Propositions, the Plan lists 18 Points — some with their own subordinate Clauses.

PROPOSITIONS

Proposition 1:

Ukraine shall regain the sovereignty of Crimea and shall willingly sell it to Russia. Russia shall recognize the Ukrainian sovereignty over Crimea and shall legally purchase it from Ukraine.

Proposition 2:

On the mainland occupied territories, Ukraine shall regain the sovereignty of the land, and Russia shall maintain the sovereignty of the separatist people. The separatists shall be able to choose to emigrate to Russia or remain in Ukraine as Russian citizens. For the second option, Ukraine will codify a special status called native residency to protect their rights of residence.

BOOK EXCERPT

From Part II - Chapter 3 of the Book:

The CURD Plan lists 18 points, divided into propositional and concessional categories. The propositional points directly relate to the two stated propositions and are the pre-conditions for a peace negotiation. Russia and Ukraine will not start the peace process unless they have publicly agreed to the general contour of the propositions—they can make their declarations separately without consulting one another. Once the two countries have adopted the general principles of the propositions, they will jointly declare the opening of a peace conference. With the principles for peace accepted, the negotiators can quickly work on a ceasefire agreement to stop the killing and destruction while they continue to hammer down the details of the propositional and concessionary points for a comprehensive peace agreement.

The first four points of the CURD Plan are the propositional points. They will be fine-tuned during the negotiation but are not negotiable on their key aspects. For example, if Ukraine has publicly declared its intention to sell Crimea, it will not go into the negotiation and change its tune to a no – ditto for Russia in its intention to purchase Crimea.

The purchase of the Crimean Peninsula will not be settled by a monetary amount but by the concessional points made by Russia to Ukraine. The rights of the separatist Russian citizens who choose to remain in their Ukrainian ancestral lands, the treatment of war criminals, the adoption of engaged neutrality, and other post-war subjects will be covered by concessional points made by Ukraine to Russia. During the negotiation, Russia and Ukraine may introduce other concessionary points not listed in the original CURD Plan.

The propositional points set up the conditions for Russia and Ukraine to enter the peace negotiation. The give-and-take agreements on the concessional points allow them to exit the negotiation and declare peace — a peace from which each country can formulate its own version of victory.

POINTS and CLAUSES

Propositional Points:

Point 1: The Selling Of Crimea

Ukraine shall willingly sell the Crimean Peninsula to Russia.

Point 2: The Purchase Of Crimea

Russia shall legally purchase the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine.

Point 3: The Sovereignty Of Occupied Territories

Ukraine and Russia shall recognize each other's sovereignty based on the pre-2014 border by withdrawing from all mainland occupations and rescinding all declared annexations.

Clause 3-1: The Sovereignty of Occupied Ukrainian Territories

Russia shall recognize Ukraine's sovereignty based on the pre-2014 border by withdrawing from all mainland occupations and rescinding all declared annexations.

Clause 3-2: The Sovereignty of Occupied Russian Territories

Ukraine shall withdraw from all Russian sovereign territories to the pre-2014 and new Crimean borders

Point 4: The Native Residency In Returned Territories

Ukraine shall offer native residency to separatists who choose to remain in the returned territories. Native residency is a novel concept that allows separatists with Russian citizenship to live in the returned territories with all the local rights of Ukrainian citizens but none of their national rights. Point 8 will present the rights of native residents.

Concessional Points:

Point 5: The Concurrent Ceasefire

Ukraine and Russia shall cease military hostilities while the peace negotiation takes place.

Clause 5-1: The Ceasefire Initiation

Ukraine and Russia shall cease fire at the opening of the negotiation by having their armies stand in place.

Clause 5-2: The Ceasefire Commission

Ukraine and Russia shall create a Joint Military Ceasefire Commission within one week of the ceasefire.

Clause 5-3: The Ceasefire No Man's Land

Ukraine and Russia shall maintain a no-man's land between their standing armies that shall not be violated even in the case of unilateral withdrawals.

Clause 5-4: The Ceasefire Zonal Restitution

Ukraine and Russia shall be open to the restitution of occupied zones to the other side during the ceasefire.

Clause 5-5: The Ceasefire Administrative Restitution

Ukraine and Russia shall restitute the other side's civilian administration on the occupied territories after one month of ceasefire.

Point 6: The Trials Of War Criminals

Ukraine and Russia shall submit to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for investigation, prosecution, judgment, and appeal of war criminal cases but shall retain the sentencing stage for themselves.

Clause 6-1: Agreement On Using The ICC

Ukraine and Russia shall agree to use the ICC for the preliminary examinations, investigations, trials, and appeals stages.

Clause 6-2: Abrogation Of National War Criminal Laws

Ukraine and Russia shall abrogate their war criminal laws against the other party for the stages assumed by the ICC.

Clause 6-3: Separate Submissions Of War Criminal Lists

Ukraine and Russia shall submit to the ICC their separate lists of war criminals and four exemptions: the head of state and three optional individuals essential for the peace negotiation that each state selects.

Clause 6-4: Statute Of Limitations

Ukraine and Russia shall have a limited period to submit their list of war criminals and shall treat any suspect not on a list as not guilty after the submission deadline.

Clause 6-5: State-Party Funding For Submitted Cases

Ukraine and Russia shall fund their own submitted cases to the ICC to conduct examination, investigation, and trial, referred to as the ICC process.

Clause 6-6: Free From Arrest During The ICC Process

Ukraine and Russia shall free any arrested individual on their lists, resist arresting individuals on their lists, and allow such individuals free movement to emigrate, during the ICC process.

Clause 6-7: State-Party Funded Appeals

Ukraine and Russia shall have the option to initiate and fund an appeal to the ICC if they disagree with an initial ICC verdict.

Clause 6-8: Double Jeopardy

Ukraine and Russia shall abide by ICC final verdicts and shall not bring the same cases to another legal venue, national or international, for retrial.

Clause 6-9: State-Party Sentencing

Ukraine and Russia shall be able to issue separate sentences to ICC-judged guilty war criminals using their national legal systems.

Clause 6-10: International Recognition Of the Sentences

Ukraine and Russia shall let a third-party country choose which national sentence to apply to guilty war criminals if they come to that country's jurisdiction.

Point 7: The Release Of Prisoners

Ukraine and Russia shall release all military and civilian prisoners and facilitate their repatriation.

Clause 7-1: The Release of Military Prisoners

Ukraine and Russia shall release all military prisoners since 2014.

Clause 7-2: The Release of Civilian Prisoners

Ukraine and Russia shall release all imprisoned civilians since 2014.

Clause 7-3: The Return Of The Dead

Ukraine and Russa shall repatriate all remains of soldiers and civilians.

Clause 7-4: The Release Of Foreign Prisoners

Ukraine and Russia shall release all military foreigners caught on the battlefields and pledge to expedite the release of foreign civilians detained as a consequence of the war.

Point 8: The Return Of The Displaced

Russia and Ukraine shall facilitate the return to Ukraine of the displaced (such as abductees, deportees, evacuees, refugees, exiles, transferees, and others) who had been moved out either by will, necessity, or force from the occupied Ukrainian territories since 2014.

Point 9: The Rights Of Native Residents in Ukraine

Ukraine shall codify into law the native residency eligibility, rights and responsibilities.

Clause 9-1: Regional Availability

Ukraine shall grant native residency only to residents in the native residency territories.

Clause 9-2: Temporal Eligibility

Ukraine shall grant native residency only during the one-time transitional period.

Clause 9-3: Loss Of Native Residency Due To Non-Residency

Ukraine shall have the right to to rescind native residency to holders who have not lived in the native residency territories for a number of days in a year.

Clause 9-4: Citizenship Conversion

Ukraine shall allow the conversion of native residency to Ukrainian citizenship, but not the reverse.

Clause 9-5: Native Residency Ascribed Status

Ukraine shall grant native residency to the progeny of a native resident unless the parent decides otherwise.

Clause 9-6: Ukrainian Local Rights

Ukraine shall grant native residents all the rights at the local level like Ukrainian citizens.

Clause 9-7: Ukrainian National Rights

Ukraine shall not grant native residents any rights at the national level unless allowed by specific Ukrainian laws.

Clause 9-8: Russian Expatriate Benefits

Ukraine shall permit Russia to provide benefits specifically to native residents in Ukraine.

Clause 9-9: Loss Of Native Residency Due To Unwelcome Behaviors

Ukraine shall have the right to rescind native residency from holders upon their unwelcome behavior.

Clause 9-10: Protection Of Native Residents From Unwelcome Behaviors

Ukraine shall protect native residents and their families from any harassment due to their Russian citizenship and past separatist activities during the war.

Point 10: The Russian Native Residency in Crimea

Russia shall offer a native residency program to eligible Ukrainians who choose to stay in the Crimean Peninsula after Ukraine sells it to Russia. Eligible Ukrainians are those who have lived in the Crimean Peninsula before the 2014 occupation and have remained in the peninsula under the occupying Russian administration or, as exiles, would like to return to their old homes.

Point 11: The Restoration Of Ukrainian-Crimean Economic Ties

Ukraine and Russia shall restore the essential economic ties between the Ukrainian mainland and the Russian Crimean Peninsula.

Clause 11-1: Water Restoration

Ukraine and Russia shall cooperate to repair the Dnieper dam and re-open the North Crimean Canal.

Clause 11-2: Energy And Import Restoration

Ukraine and Russia shall cooperate to restore the Ukrainian delivery of electricity and other types of energy to Crimea and facilitate the exports and imports of goods between Ukraine and Crimea.

Clause 11-3: Land Corridor to Crimea

Ukraine shall open a land corridor on mainland Ukraine for Russian civilian traffic and travel between mainland Russia and the Crimean Peninsula.

Clause 11-4: Land, Sea, And Air Access Restoration

Ukraine and Russia shall open all land, sea, and air civilian access to the Crimean peninsula from mainland Ukraine and vice versa, including flyovers of the Ukrainian mainland by civilian Russian aircraft on their way to and from Crimea.

Point 12: The Tuzla Island Outpost Exception

Russia shall return a patch of land to Ukraine on the tip of Tuzla Island in the Kerch Strait and recognize Ukrainian sovereignty on any outpost and attached pier that Ukraine may maintain on this patch of land. This point is to prevent the Kerch Strait from being listed as an internal water body of Russia and to facilitate Ukrainian maritime transit through the Kerch Strait between the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.

Point 13: The Joint Demining Corp

Russia shall volunteer a contingent of army sappers and demining-trained soldiers, and Ukraine shall approve their stay in the native residency territories to form a Joint Demining Corp with their Ukrainian counterparts.

Point 14: The Pipeline Concessions

Russia shall agree to assist Ukraine in fixing the Ukrainian pipelines and use such pipelines to deliver fossil products to Europe and Ukraine on terms favorable to Ukraine.

Clause 14-1: The Revitalization Concession

Russia shall pay in full for the restoration of Ukrainian pipeline segments within the native residency territories. Outside of these territories, Russia shall assist Ukraine in the restoration.

Clause 14-2: The European Transit Concession

Russia shall use the Ukrainian pipelines for its European market for a guaranteed annual volume for a negotiated number of years with transmission fees on terms favorable to Ukraine.

Clause 14-3: The Ukrainian Use Concession

Russia shall supply oil and gas at no cost for Ukrainian needs in the native residency territories and deliver at cost for the rest of the country for a contracted number of years. In return, Ukraine shall re-open its energy industry to Russian companies.

Point 15: The Debt Concessions

Russia shall forgive all past debts taken by Ukraine and assume new Ukrainian debts to help its post-war reconstruction. In return, Ukraine shall formally renounce any international and domestic path for war reparations.

Clause 15-1: The Cancellation Of Existing Ukrainian Debts

Russia shall forgive all Ukrainian current debts.

Clause 15-2: The Purchase Of New Ukrainian Debts

Russia shall purchase new Ukrainian bonds issued with very low or no interest and in an amount close to Russia's sovereign assets frozen in Western institutions. In return, Ukraine shall drop its compensation claims in all forums, domestic or international.

Point 16: The Asset Concessions

Ukraine and Russia shall dismiss indemnification claims for destroyed and damaged assets, return all confiscated assets, and restrict the repatriation of profits from the assets during the reconstruction period.

Clause 16-1: The Indemnification of Military Assets

Ukraine and Russia shall not indemnify the other side for the lost military assets incurred from the 2014 conflict onward.

Clause 16-2: The Indemnification of Civilian Assets

Ukraine and Russia shall not indemnify the other side for civilian assets destroyed or damaged from the 2014 conflict onward.

Clause 16-3: The Restitution Of Confiscated Assets

Ukraine and Russia shall return to their pre-war owners the confiscated assets in their current condition by the time of the ceasefire; if a clean return cannot be made or is desired, fair compensation shall substitute.

Clause 16-4: The Restriction On Repatriation

Ukraine and Russia shall forbid the repatriation of profits and windfalls from restituted assets during the transitional period.

Point 17: The Engaged Neutrality

Ukraine shall re-engage with Russia militarily, economically, and politically. Russia shall accept Ukraine's deepening military, economic, and political engagement with Western countries. The Ukrainian engagements with both Russia and the West will be called "engaged neutrality".

Clause 17-1: The Military Engaged Neutrality

Ukraine shall approach the Russian-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the U.S.-dominated NATO not for membership but for partnership. The "engaged" part of the military neutrality doctrine requires Ukraine to actively participate in the CSTO while maintaining its involvement with NATO. If the CSTO and NATO sides are in direct conflict, Ukraine shall maintain neutrality.

Clause 17-2: The Economic Engaged Neutrality

Ukraine shall reestablish all economic ties with Russia and the Russia-dominated Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Russia shall accept Ukrainian economic ties with the U.S., the European Union, and the rest of the Western world. If the two economic blocs are in direct conflict, Ukraine shall maintain neutrality.

Clause 17-2: The Political Engaged Neutrality

In foreign affairs, Ukraine shall resume full diplomacy with Russia, and Russia shall not interfere with Ukraine maintaining diplomatic relationships with any country as it sees fit. If, on the world stage, the Russian sphere of influence conflicts with the Western side, Ukraine will lean towards the side that adheres better to the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) principle. If the NAM principle is either fully adhered to by both sides or fully not adhered to by neither side, Ukraine shall maintain neutrality.

On domestic affairs, Ukraine shall allow pro-Russian parties to return to the domestic political scene with all the rights and responsibilities of a Ukrainian political party, and Russia shall not interfere with Ukraine's internal political affairs. Ukraine shall pass laws that maintain neutrality between the pro-Russian and pro-Western tendencies. For example, Ukraine will rescind laws that dictate ascension to the EU and NATO.

With the CURD Plan, Ukraine can declare victory by achieving its most important objectives: sovereignty, territory integrity, and a path to prosperity; and Russia can declare its own victory with the legal ownership of Crimea, the end of sanctions, and regained prominence in world affairs.

The CURD Plan could be unfolded as follows:

Ukraine and Russia agree on the principle of the two Propositions.
Ukraine and Russia declare a ceasefire based on Point 5 (The Conjoint Ceasefire).
Ukraine and Russia convene a peace conference to negotiate the remaining Points and Clauses.
Ukraine and Russia sign a peace agreement, resulting in Crimea legally belonged to Russia, and Russia returning the other occupied territories to Ukraine.

The CURD Book describes the Propositions, Points, and Clauses in detail.

PLAN - The CURD Plan Overview