Posted on 01/27/24
| News Source: NY Post
Russia has sent backchannel indicators to US officials suggesting Vladimir Putin may be open to negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine, according to reports — but experts cautioned the supposed negotiations could merely be a Russian ploy to drive a wedge between Ukraine’s allies.
The signals were sent to senior US officials at some point last month, two sources close to the Kremlin told Bloomberg. The missives reportedly indicated Putin could be willing to drop his long-held staunch resistance to Ukraine joining NATO in order to end the war.
In return, however, Russia would require that the Kremlin maintain control over territory it has taken from Ukraine since its invasion began in February 2022 — around 18% of the country at present — something which Kyiv has been adamantly opposed to.
“President Putin has stated numerous times that Russia was, is and will continue to be open for negotiations on Ukraine,” a Kremlin spokesperson told Bloomberg.