A group of former high-ranking US national security officials held secret talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov "to lay the groundwork for negotiations to end the war in Ukraine."
This was reported by the American television channel NBC News with reference to six people who are familiar with the negotiations.
The negotiations lasted several hours and took place in April in New York during Lavrovʼs visit to chair the UN Security Council. The meeting discussed the issue of the war in Ukraine and "the search for an elusive diplomatic solution that could be acceptable to both sides." The goal of the meeting is to keep communication channels open with Russia whenever possible and to feel out where there might be room "for future negotiations, compromises and diplomacy to end the war."
The meeting was attended by Guichard Gass, a former diplomat and president of the Council on International Relations. The group was joined by European affairs expert Charles Kupchan and Russia expert Thomas Graham — former White House and State Department employees who are members of the Council on Foreign Relations. Also from the USA at this meeting was Mary Beth Long, a former assistant secretary of defense with extensive experience in NATO affairs.
In addition to Lavrov, scientists, leaders of large analytical centers and research institutes, as well as other representatives of the Russian foreign policy sphere, who listen to Putin or are in constant contact with people who make decisions in the Kremlin, participated in the discussions from the Russian side.
The discussions took place with the knowledge of the Biden administration, but not at its direction. The former diplomats later informed the White House National Security Council about the meeting.
At least one former US official has traveled to Russia to discuss the war in Ukraine, two sources told NBC News.
The Kremlin has already called the information about the meeting "disinformation."
- In March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that negotiations with Russia are possible only if it withdraws all troops from Ukraine.
- On November 15, 2022, in a speech to the participants of the G20 summit in Bali, Zelensky presented the "Ukrainian formula for peace" — this is what it entails.