Russia has sent back-channel indicators to US officials suggesting Vladimir Putin may be open to negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine, according to reports – but experts warn that the supposed talks are just a ploy by Russia to drive a wedge between Ukraine’s allies.
The signal was sent to senior US officials sometime last month, two sources close to the Kremlin told Bloomberg. The affidavit reportedly shows Putin is willing to drop his long-held opposition to Ukraine joining NATO to end the war.
However, in return, Russia will want the Kremlin to retain control over the territory it has taken from Ukraine since its invasion began in February 2022 — about 18% of the country currently — something Kyiv has strongly opposed.
“President Putin has stated many times that Russia has been, is and will continue to be open to negotiations on Ukraine,” a Kremlin spokesman told Bloomberg.
Reports say Vladimir Putin could be willing to allow Ukraine to join NATO in return for keeping the captured territory from 2022 POOL/AFP via Getty Images
The spokesman added that Russia preferred to end the war by “diplomatic means” but was prepared to proceed with force.
Despite the reports, US officials have denied receiving any such messages, backchannel signals, or indications from Russia.
“We are not aware of the shift in Russia’s position that has been described,” the National Security Council said, noting it was not the United States’ place to negotiate the terms of the Ukraine war.
“It is up to Ukraine to decide if, when and how to negotiate with Russia.”
A Ukrainian church was destroyed in the flight. The Ukrainian army has been rationing ammunition as supplies dwindle. Getty Images
Former White House aide Fiona Hill thought the rumors looked like a “classic Russian game” to undermine Ukraine’s trust in its allies by suggesting they were going backwards to negotiate their own terms.
“It is beneficial [Russia] for everyone to think that there’s a back channel and it’s so secret no one can find out because it scares the Ukrainians,” Hill told Bloomberg.
“Russia wants us to create this idea that the channel is there and everything depends on the US so nobody or nobody else plays a role,” he said.
Similar rumors are also circulating in diplomatic circles in Europe, Bloomberg reported.
Experts say reports of Russian talks may be aimed at undermining President Volodymyr Zelensky. ZUMAPRESS.com
Whatever the truth of the allegations, they come at a critical point in Ukraine’s struggle against Russia.
Some Ukrainian military units have been forced to start rationing their ammunition as supplies dwindle amid a row in the US over the next aid package.
President Biden requested $61.4 billion in aid for Ukraine on top of a $106 billion broader national security funding proposal in October, but negotiations have been stalled for months by conservatives who feel the funds would be better spent shoring up the US southern border.
As Ukraine’s supplies dwindle during the bitter winter fighting, Russia is throwing its superpower behind the war – spending about 40% of its national budget on the military – even reaching for its old Soviet-era weapons to replenish the front lines.
“The ratio is about 10 to 1,” a Ukrainian officer serving in the 93rd Mechanized Brigade told CNN, comparing Russia’s weapons output to Ukraine’s.
“Russia is a country that manufactures ammunition, and they have a strategic stockpile. Yes, they use the old Soviet system. But the Soviet system could still kill.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
