On the other hand, the American source has denied the information that there were unofficial contacts, and states that Washington will not participate in the negotiations without the participation of Kyiv.
As Russian sources testified, in 2023, Putin publicly and privately through intermediaries, among others with the help of Moscow’s Middle East Arab partners, let Washington understand that he is ready to consider the possibility of a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Putin offered to freeze the conflict on the current lines and did not want to give up any of the occupied Ukrainian territory, the interlocutors of the agency said.
“Contacts with the Americans did not lead to anything,” a senior Russian official familiar with the talks held in late 2023 and early 2024 told Reuters.
Another Russian source, who is also aware of the contacts, told “Reuters” that the Americans told Moscow through intermediaries that they could not talk about a possible ceasefire without Ukraine’s participation, and that is why the talks failed.
A third source, also briefed on the progress of the talks, said: “Everything fell through with the Americans.”
Neither the scale of the negotiations nor their failure has been previously reported, according to “Reuters”.
2024-02-13 18:34:00
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