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Two people close to the Kremlin have hinted to U.S. officials in private conversations that Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to possible discussions about ending the war in Ukraine, Bloomberg has learned.
The two people passed the “signals” to senior U.S. officials through an intermediary in December. They did not reveal their identities or the identity of the intermediary. According to them, Putin is ready to consider abandoning his insistence on Ukraine’s neutral status and perhaps even abandoning his opposition to possible NATO membership. At the same time, this possibility was the main Russian justification for the invasion.
In return, however, Ukraine would have to give up Crimea and other occupied territories, which make up around 18 percent of the country’s territory.
Russian equipment and soldiers are constantly streaming into Crimea. This indicates significant losses at the front
The Kremlin rejected the claim
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed Bloomberg’s claims on Friday. He stated that Moscow would under no circumstances give up its demands for Ukraine’s neutrality and non-joining of NATO.
Even the official American representatives did not confirm any of the above indications. “We are not aware of the described changes in Russia’s position,” said Adrienne Watson, spokeswoman for the US National Security Council. “It will be up to Ukraine to decide if, when and how to deal with Russia,” she added.
A classic Russian game
Former senior White House official Fiona Hill said of the situation that it could be a tactical move by Russia. “It’s to their (Russians’) advantage that everyone thinks there’s a back channel that’s so secret no one can figure it out because it scares the Ukrainians to death,” she told Bloomberg.
According to them, the Russians want to give people the idea that this secret channel exists and everything depends on negotiations with the US, so no one and nothing else plays a role. “It’s a classic Russian game,” she concluded.
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