The US recommends that Ukraine open up to negotiations with Russia

US diplomacy has privately asked the Ukrainian government to leave open the possibility of negotiating a peace agreement with Russia to convince allied countries that the war in Ukraine is not becoming entrenched and there is an exit option, sources have explained. close to the negotiations to the ‘Washington Post’.

These sources speak of a “calculated attempt” by the US to guarantee kyiv the support of governments whose electorates are beginning to be tired of the conflict and the economic consequences it entails. “Fatigue over Ukraine is a reality for some of our partners,” a US official on condition of anonymity told the media.

However, the government of Joe Biden has also conveyed to kyiv its conviction that none of the Russian offers to negotiate have any credibility given their exaggerated demands, which practically amount to unconditional surrender and the implicit recognition of Russian sovereignty over the territories Ukrainians who have joined.

“impossible”

In fact, at the end of September, after the Russian annexations, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, declared it “impossible” to negotiate with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. “We will do it with the new president,” he said in a speech.

However, officials in Washington consulted by the newspaper do not rule out the possibility that Zelensky will support the possibility of reopening the negotiations once winter arrives, when low temperatures make fighting practically impossible and a window for diplomacy opens.

For now, and given the Ukrainian advances in Kherson and last week’s possible attack on the port of Sevastopol, US officials are now wondering if Ukraine intends to launch offensives on the Crimean peninsula, a strategy that could end up bury all expectations of a peace agreement given the strategic importance that this territory, incorporated into Russia since 2014, represents for the Kremlin.

“Some of the G7 countries that have called for a just and negotiated peace see a possible turning point if Ukrainian forces move closer to Crimea,” according to the newspaper’s sources.