Reports: US in private talks with Russia, Ukraine over invasion

According to reports from The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, Biden administration officials have held private talks with both sides of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. According to people familiar with the Ukraine talks, the Biden administration officials are encouraging Ukraine’s leaders to signal an openness to negotiate with Russia and drop their public refusal to engage in peace talks unless President Vladimir Putin is removed from power.

The encouragement from U.S. officials is not aimed at pushing Ukraine to the negotiating table, according to the people who spoke to the Post. They called it a calculated attempt to ensure the government in Kyiv maintains the support of other nations facing constituencies wary of fueling a war for many years to come.

“Ukraine fatigue is a real thing for some of our partners,” one of the U.S. officials said. A spokesman for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not respond to a request for comment.

Two days after the Post report was published, Russia declined to comment on a Journal report saying National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan held private talks about Ukraine with top aides to President Putin. According to U.S. and allied officials, the talks were an effort to reduce the risk of a broader conflict over Ukraine and warn Moscow against using nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction.

“We have nothing to say about this publication,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday. He also declined on the Post report, responding “we don’t know if that’s the case or not.”

Reuters contributed to this report.