American diplomats have held secret meetings with Russia – behind Joe Biden’s back.
In April, the group met with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in New York, according to NBC sources.
– The Biden administration did not sanction these discussions, according to the White House spokesperson The Guardian.
A group of former top names in the US security service have held secret talks with Russian politicians with close ties to the Kremlin, writes NBC.
The goal of the meetings has been to lay the groundwork for an end to the war in Ukraine, six informed sources told the American television channel. And the meetings have taken place behind the back of US President Joe Biden.
– The Biden administration did not sanction these discussions, according to a spokesperson for the US State Department The Guardian.
– And as we have said several times, nothing about Ukraine but Ukraine.
The spokesperson was referring to US policy not to discuss possible ways to end the war without Ukrainian representatives present.
Met Lavrov
In April, representatives from the secret group met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in New York. The meeting touched on the most burning topics of the war – such as the areas Russia has occupied and how to end the war in a way that both sides are satisfied with.
The meeting with Lavrov included Richard Haass, a former diplomat, an outgoing head of the Council on Foreign Relations, Europe expert Charles Kupchan and Russia expert Thomas Graham, NBC said. The sources have wished to remain anonymous because it is classified information they have revealed.
“No official meetings”
None of those named in the group have wanted to comment on the meeting, but on Friday Haass wrote generally about the benefit of the discussions in a blog post on the platform Substack:
“Because they are not official meetings, participants feel more comfortable speaking frankly and testing new ideas or proposals,” he wrote.
“The important thing is that such meetings are conversations, not negotiations. Those involved speak for themselves, not for any institution they are affiliated with, and certainly not for the US government although relevant government officials are kept informed of what is going on.”
Proposed new strategy
According to the sources, the aim of the discussions has been to keep communication between the US and Russia as open as possible – and to get an idea of which areas there could be room for compromise or negotiations that could lead to an end to the war.
In April, Haass and Kupchan wrote a column in the magazine Foreign Affairs with the headline “The West needs a new strategy in Ukraine – a plan to move from the battlefield to the negotiating table”.
Cease fire and peace talks
The authors predicted a stalemate in the conflict – and thought the US should propose a cease-fire in which a “demilitarized zone” was created.
“A neutral organization — either the United Nations or the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe — could send in observers to monitor and enforce the ceasefire and withdrawal,” they wrote.
“If the truce holds, they should be followed by peace talks.”
The discussions have taken place with the knowledge of the Biden administration – but not under the direction of the president. After the meetings, the former officials briefed the White House Security Council, according to the sources.
Track Two Diplomacy
The secret communication with Russia is called in diplomatic parlance “track two diplomacy”, which means unofficial talks that do not involve anyone sitting in the government. In the case of the Lavrov meeting, it is rather about “track 1.5 diplomacy” – since one side of the discussion is a current official.
On the US side, some former Defense Department officials have attended, among them Mary Beth Long, who is a former deputy defense secretary.
At least one former US politician has traveled to Russia for discussions about the war, according to NBC’s sources.
“Not without Ukraine”
On Russia’s side, academics, leaders from major think tanks or research institutes have participated in the talks – as well as people close to President Vladimir Putin or with good insight into the Kremlin’s decision-making.
Neither the White House Security Council nor the Russian Embassy in Washington wanted to comment on the information, writes NBC.
Neither does Ukraine’s government, which refrains from commenting on specific reports based on unnamed sources.
– Our position is unchanged – Ukraine’s fate cannot be decided without Ukraine. The president and many of our official speakers have talked about it many times. Not anonymous but quite specific and open, said a spokesperson for Zelenskyi’s government.