He also defended himself against “nasty, ad hominem attacks” and suggested the intervention could undermine Ukraine’s position. In a Substack post on Friday, he confirmed his participation in the meeting but declined to offer details, arguing that such exchanges have the best chance of success when kept confidential. He has been described as “the dean” of the foreign policy establishment. Haass is a former White House, Pentagon and state department official who has just stepped down as head of the Council on Foreign Relations after two decades. Lavrov would be highly unlikely to meet retired US officials unless they had some link to official channels, they added.Ī former western official said they were aware of the talks but their status was unclear: “But even if not authorised this visit shows that some ‘realists’ in DC want to do a deal with Russia over Ukraine’s head.” He said the administration would continue providing weaponry to Kyiv so Ukrainian officials “can negotiate from a position of strength when they think the time is right”.įormer diplomats said the US did make use of former diplomats to conduct back-channel discussions, although this did not mean they would lead to more serious negotiations. The spokesperson was referring to an administration policy of not discussing possible negotiations on ending the war without involving Ukrainian officials.
“And as we’ve said repeatedly, nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.” “The Biden administration did not sanction those discussions,” a state department spokesperson said on Thursday.
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