The Russian leadership proposed that the United States freeze the war in Ukraine, but Washington refused to discuss this without Ukraine.
Writes about this Reuters citing three Russian sources. According to them, Putin, through intermediaries, including through Arab partners in the Middle East, sent signals to Washington in 2023 that he wanted to freeze the conflict on the current lines without any concessions from the occupying forces.
A senior Russian source told reporters that the mediators met in Turkey at the end of 2023, the negotiations ended in nothing. The second interlocutor says that the Americans refused to discuss a ceasefire without Ukraine. A third source says that the United States did not want to put pressure on Ukraine.
An American source denied the fact of official contact and said that Washington would not participate in negotiations without Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Russians say that after receiving the signal, American officials, including White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, CIA Director Bill Burns and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, held a meeting.
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The idea was that Sullivan would talk to Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov and determine next steps, one Russian source said. But when the call came in January, Sullivan told Ushakov that Washington was ready to discuss other aspects of the relationship, but not will talk about a ceasefire without Ukraine,” the publication notes.
Another Russian source told reporters that Putin commented: “I knew they wouldn’t do anything.” Another interlocutor noted that Washington did not believe in the dictator’s sincerity. Now the Kremlin sees no point in further contacts with the United States on the issue of freezing the war.
War freeze and negotiations with Russia:
As is known, the Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly stated that the issue of negotiations with Russia will be considered only after the withdrawal of occupation forces from the territories of Ukraine. Moscow claims that it has never refused to negotiate, but only on its own terms.
Also in Kyiv, they believe that the Russian authorities are using the ceasefire at the front to replenish and strengthen their troops for further attacks.
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2024-02-13 21:44:00
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