Former US officials held secret meeting with prominent Russians on ending Ukraine war: Report

The United States seems to be laying the groundwork to end the Russia-Ukraine war, as reports coming to the fore claim that a meeting was held recently between former senior US security officials and Russians closeto the Kremlin.

NBC News, quoting sources close to the discussions, reported that a high-level back-channel diplomacy—called Track Two diplomacy in diplomatic parlance— took place in April between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and senior former US officials in New York.

The former US officials who met Lavrov were Richard Haass, a former diplomat and the outgoing president of the Council on Foreign Relations, Europe expert Charles Kupchan and Russia expert Thomas Graham, both former White House and State Department officials.

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In the April meeting, some of the thorniest issues were discussed like the fate of Russian-held territory that Ukraine may never be able to liberate, and the search for an elusive diplomatic solution that is acceptable to both sides, NBC News reported.

Back-channel diplomacy

The discussions also pertained to keeping the channels of communication with Russia open where possible and to feel out where there might be room for future negotiation, compromise and diplomacy over ending the war.

The report says that the Biden administration was aware of the secret meeting, but added that it was not conducted at the behest of the US president.

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The former US officials who met Lavrov later briefed the White House National Security Council about what transpired, two of the sources told NBC.

Apart from Lavrov, the discussions also involved other Russians including academics, leaders from major think tanks and others in the Russian foreign policy sphere believed to be in regular touch with President Vladimir Putin, the sources told NBC.

However, the names of these prominent Russians haven’t been revealed due to safety concerns.

CIA chief recently held talks with Russia, Ukrainian officials

The latest development comes days after CNN reported that CIA Director William Burns recently travelled to Ukraine and met with President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukrainian intelligence officials.

“Director Burns recently travelled to Ukraine, as he has done regularly since the beginning of Russia’s recent aggression more than a year ago,” a US official told CNN.

“As with other trips, the director met with his Ukrainian intelligence counterparts and President Zelensky, reaffirming the US commitment to sharing intelligence to help Ukraine defend against Russian aggression.”

Burns travelled to Kyiv before Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s attempted coup, which was reportedly not a topic of discussion.

Another official told CNN that Burns also spoke to his Russian counterpart, Sergey Naryshkin, after the rebellion and reiterated that the US had nothing to do with it. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the call.

(With inputs from agencies)

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