Former US officials held secret talks with Russian nationals close to the Kremlin, including Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, to discuss Ukraine’s future, US NBC reported on Thursday.

As reported by the American TV channel NBC, quoted by the EFE and Agerpres agencies, the meeting with Lavrov took place in New York in April and lasted several hours.

The meeting with the Russian foreign minister was attended by Richard Haas, a veteran diplomat who resigned in June as president of the Council on Foreign Relations, an important foreign policy think tank in Washington, NBC reported, citing four former officials. US officials and two acting officials.

The meeting was also attended by European expert Charles Kupchan and Russian expert Thomas Graham, both former White House officials who now work at the Council on Foreign Relations, NBC reported.

Some of the most difficult issues to deal with in the war in Ukraine were discussed, such as the fate of territories occupied by Moscow, which Kyiv may never liberate, and the search for a diplomatic solution acceptable to both sides.

The US network says Joe Biden’s administration was aware of the discussions, but they did not take place at his behest, two sources told NBC.

Also, former US officials who met with Lavrov later informed the National Security Council of the White House, which deals with foreign policy, about the content of the meeting, NBC reports.

How the White House reacted

The White House declined to comment on the meetings and told reporters to ask former officials involved.

In addition, one of the White House spokespersons, Andrew Bates, told the press that Biden’s goal remains to help Ukraine gain ground on the battlefield so that he can negotiate with Russia “from a position of maximum strength” to achieve peace on his terms.

At the same time, Bates repeated that the motto of the Biden administration is “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine”, so the government in Kyiv should participate in any US discussion regarding Ukraine.

A source in the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi told NBC that his position remains unchanged and that Ukraine should participate in any discussions about its future, but declined to comment specifically on the secret talks reported by the American channel.

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