US diplomacy 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 the country will not last forever.
The news is reported by the Washington Post.citing sources close to the negotiations.
These sources speak of a “calculated attempt” by the US to guarantee kyiv the support of governments whose electorates are beginning to tire of the conflict and the economic consequences it entails.
“Ukraine fatigue is a reality for some of our partners,” a US official told the newspaper, speaking on condition of anonymity.
However, the US government has also conveyed to kyiv its knowledge that none of the Russian offers to negotiate have any credibility, given the exaggerated demands, which practically amount to an unconditional surrender and an implicit recognition of Russian sovereignty over Ukrainian territories. Which incorporates.
In fact, at the end of September, after the Russian annexations, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared that it was “impossible” to negotiate with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. “We will negotiate with the new president,” he said in a speech.
However, US officials consulted by the newspaper do not rule out the possibility that Zelensky will support a reopening of the negotiations, once winter arrives, when low temperatures make confrontations practically impossible and the window of diplomacy opens.
For now, and in the face of Ukrainian advances in Kherson and last week’s possible attack on the port of Sevastopol, US officials are now wondering whether Ukraine intends to launch offensives in the Crimean peninsula, a strategy that could end all expectations of a peace agreement. , given the strategic importance that this territory, incorporated by Russia in 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.
Source: TSF
