NBC: Former U.S. officials have held secret Ukraine talks with prominent Russians
The aim of the discussions is to lay the groundwork for potential negotiations to end the war, people briefed on the talks tell NBC News.
LONDON — A group of former senior U.S. national security officials have held secret talks with prominent Russians believed to be close to the Kremlin — and, in at least one case, with the country’s top diplomat — with the aim of laying the groundwork for potential negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, half a dozen people briefed on the discussions told NBC News.
In a high-level example of the back-channel diplomacy taking place behind the scenes, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with members of the group for several hours in April in New York, four former officials and two current officials told NBC News.
On the agenda of the April meeting were some of the thorniest issues in the war in Ukraine, like the fate of Russian-held territory that Ukraine may never be able to liberate, and the search for an elusive diplomatic off-ramp that could be tolerable to both sides.
Sitting down with Lavrov were Richard Haass, a former diplomat and the outgoing president of the Council on Foreign Relations, current and former officials said. The group was joined by Europe expert Charles Kupchan and Russia expert Thomas Graham, both former White House and State Department officials who are Council on Foreign Relations fellows.
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WNU Editor: I know about the Lavorov meeting. Russian media covered it at the time, and according to them it did not end well. And as to the unnamed Russians that these former U.S. officials had talks with. That is news to me.
So what are the prospects of "peace talks" advancing?
Sighhh .... IMHO there is none.
The Kremlin mindset is that the U.S. and its allies are trying to find a roadmap to freeze the conflict but maintain sanctions, war crimes charges against Putin at the Hague, continue to work hard to isolate Russia, and doing all of this while rebuilding the Ukraine military to restart the war sometime in the future.
What also does not help is that all the former signatories of the previous Minsk accord have now come out in public admitting that those peace talks were just a ruse to buy time for the West to help Ukraine buildup its military and be able to retake the rebel territories in the Donbas. Russia is not going to make that mistake again.
Russians see themselves fighting a war against an adversary that has publicly called for the killing of its leadership (i,e, US Senator Lindsay Graham), and the dismemberment of the Russian Federation. Add in the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines, a drone attack against the Kremlin that many now view was an attempt to assassinate Putin, massive military aid to Ukraine coupled with providing critical intelligence.
So yeah .... in this context .... U.S. talk about laying the groundwork for potential negotiations to end the war sound and look very hollow for many (if not most) Russians.
Update: The Russian Foreign Ministry just called this NBC report part of a disinformation campaign.
8 comments:
Is there anyone on Putin's team or Putin himself who could sign any agreement that would be worth paper printed on? No. Who represents Russia? This is great analysis from someone else.
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It is what Democrat teachers and professors are teaching kids.
If Russia did move WMDs for Iraq to Syria that alone would reason enough for the US dismember the Rump USSR.
Let us not forget the intel and massive aid the Russians gave to North Korea and North Vietnam.
Dear Russian friends - believe us, we do not wish for this war. I am personally ashamed that they broke the Minsk accord. I live in Germany and feel our leadership has been hijacked - see what that pig Klaus Schwab said about having infiltrated our governments. It looks so. We wish no war upon you, but our leaders do. Please take your revenge out on them, not us people who do not support these lying, thieving and Nuremberg violating bastards! They conducted medical experiments on all of us, shut down our economy, stole our money, lied to us about the severity of the disease - we could not even say good by to loved ones, who were killed using medical procedures that would have killed anyone with a flu. (and of course the flu was gone during that time - everyhting was covid=
We are being misled by tyrants who deplatform and silence us. Please help!
Russian disinformation trolls are really improving their English. After the war, when things all fall apart, they can get jobs as English speaking tour guides in Moscow.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel 4:18.
There was this Moroccan who had a job in the banking industry in Europe he quite to return to Morocco and become a tour guide. Probably a step up for him financially.
2:26
is uneducated.
The USSR was in NK and North Vietnam. Saying it was the only the Russians in these conflicts is like saying it was only the Ukrainians.
a lie and smear tactic
pure and simple
This subject is being debated on russian TV. The consensus there is, that it is all crap. The individuals named who were supposed to meet with lavrov are all has beens who have no current standing in DC and Russians deny that it even happened.
Why do this? Who knows? Maybe the west is trying to look like the good guy peacemakers before they do something really stupid after the Vilnius meeting.
Stories like this and the nuke plant bombing plot do not come out of no where. Some one is building a narrative for future use.
The native Americans listened to the promises of the US government. Look how that turned out. Wounded Knee ? More like Shotgun Wound to the Head....
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