Politico: US State Department is secretly preparing the ground for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
U.S. State Department is secretly preparing conditions for a possible peaceful settlement of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, but there is no consensus in Washington on this issue, reports Politico citing unnamed representatives of the U.S. administration.
“In the meantime, the State Department is preparing the ground for possible peace talks between Ukraine and Russia,” the publication said.
According to the publication’s sources, the US administration also stressed that the US authorities intended to consult on this issue only jointly and in close coordination with Kiev.
According to the publication, the window for possible negotiations between Moscow and Kiev may open in winter, when the intensity of hostilities decreases due to the weather factor.
“So why not start discussions on peace talks before you send another 100,000 people into that abyss?” one official wondered.
However, the White House National Security Council has been the most vocal in opposing the start of peace talks, arguing that Moscow has not demonstrated a good faith commitment to such a dialogue. As an example, the publication mentions US Assistant to the President for National Security Jake Sullivan, who had previously stated that he did not think negotiations between Russia and Ukraine were the right idea at this stage. The majority of his colleagues generally shared this view, the newspaper noted.
The US administration, including its head Joe Biden, has repeatedly stated that it does not intend to hold talks with Russia on the situation around Ukraine without the participation of Kiev’s representatives.