US Urges Ukraine to Consider Negotiations with Russia: What Has Changed?

The Biden administration is privately urging Ukraine's leadership to declare its willingness to negotiate with Russia, sources informed The Washington Post (WP). According to the newspaper, Washington wants Kyiv to abandon the principle of not negotiating with Moscow.

WP states that this initiative is not intended to push Ukraine into negotiations with Russia. It aims to secure support for Kyiv from other countries that are concerned about the prolongation of military operations. “Ukraine fatigue is a real issue for some of our partners,” one of the newspaper's sources said.

Sources in the US believe that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is likely to support talks and will eventually make concessions, as had been anticipated in the spring. At the same time, according to the publication, Kyiv is trying to “secure as many military successes as possible” before winter begins.

WP notes that Washington publicly expresses its willingness to continue supporting Ukraine for as long as necessary. However, polling among Republican Party members, who may control Congress after the midterm elections, shows that fewer members want to continue assistance to Kyiv at the same level.

Russian-Ukrainian negotiations were suspended in May. The last face-to-face meeting of delegations took place in Istanbul on March 29. After Russia annexed the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, as well as the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the possibility of negotiations as long as Vladimir Putin remains the President of the Russian Federation.