Peskov called false reports that the United States offered to give Russia 20 percent of Ukraine
The reports of the Swiss newspaper Neue Zurcher Zeitung that in mid-January the head of the CIA, William Burns, allegedly secretly visited Moscow and Kyiv and offered peace to the parties, are a canard, said Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov. He is quoted RIA News.
At the same time, Peskov did not deny the information about the very visit of a representative of the US intelligence services to Moscow.
According to the Neue Zurcher Zeitung, Burns insisted that Ukraine give 20 percent of its territory to Russia, and he spoke directly to Russian leader Vladimir Putin about this. The article indicated that the head of the CIA was sent to Kyiv and Moscow by US President Joe Biden. The newspaper’s sources from the German foreign departments also suggested that Biden’s goal was to try to avoid a protracted war in Ukraine.
However, Moscow and Kyiv refused Burns’ proposal, writes NZZ. The interlocutors of the newspaper pointed out that it was after the failure in the negotiations that the American leader decided to supply Abrams tanks to Kyiv.
The White House denied rumors about Burns’ proposal, in Russia it was called impossible
Sean Davitta, deputy spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said reports of talks between Burns and Putin are false. One of the CIA officers discussed rumors with Newsweek, also insisted on the groundlessness of information NZZ.
Alexei Chepa, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, stressed that such negotiations would be impossible. In his opinion, the offer to receive 20 percent of Ukraine in exchange for peace is contrary to the interests of Russia, whose goal is to ensure its own security.
What the Swiss media have said is a strange deal, not our methods and not our position
Russia’s first deputy envoy to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, in turn, told Newsweek that the Swiss paper’s article was “interesting” but that he himself could not “comment on such assumptions.”
At the end of January, the media wrote about a secret meeting between Burns and Zelensky
It is possible that Burns’ negotiations with Russian and Ukrainian officials took place: at least as early as January 20, Reuters and The Washington Post wrote that Burns went to Kyiv to meet with the President of the Republic, Vladimir Zelensky.
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It is believed that during the talks, the Ukrainian politician expressed fears that Washington would not be able to help Kyiv for a long time. Burns, in turn, shared his assumptions “regarding Russia’s military plans for the coming weeks and months.”
According to WP, following the meeting, Zelensky and his aides “were left with the impression that US support for Ukraine will remain strong.” The $45 billion funding approved by Congress should last until at least July.
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