According to a report on Thursday, former US national security officials have discussed prospective discussions to end the war in Ukraine in covert meetings with important Russian sources close to the Kremlin, including, at least once, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
These high-level negotiations were conducted behind closed doors, officials told NBC News. According to reports, Lavrov met with the former American officials in New York in April for a number of hours.
Richard Haass, a former diplomat and the current president of the Council on Foreign Relations, as well as fellow CFR members and former officials from the White House and the State Department, Charles Kupchan and Thomas Graham, participated in these discussions.
The Council on Foreign Relations has been contacted by Fox News Digital for comment.
In times of crisis, back channels of communication are sometimes used to prevent unintentional escalation between two nuclear superpowers, such as the US and Russia.
Rebekah Koffler, a former defense intelligence officer, told Fox News Digital that her analysis of the material shows that neither Russia nor the US are sincere about wanting to negotiate for peace in Ukraine because their viewpoints are incompatible.
End Conflict In Ukraine With Controversial Conditions
If the US agrees to stop arming Ukraine and recognize Crimea and the other four annexed regions as Russian, Putin would put an end to the conflict.
The Biden administration is very unlikely to agree to this since the rest of the world would see it as Putin winning and America and Europe losing.
The report from NBC News coincides with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Thursday visit to the capitals of Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, where he discussed military assistance and obtained pledges of support for Ukraine’s entrance into NATO after its conflict with Russia is resolved.
As soon as the war is over, conversations about Ukraine joining NATO should start, according to Czech President Petr Pavel.
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Source: msn.com3