The Biden administration is privately asking top Ukrainian officials to show openness to peace talks with Russia, the Washington Post reported on Saturday.
Kiev’s public refusal to negotiate with Moscow unless President Vladimir Putin is removed from power in Russia must be abandoned, people familiar with the discussions told the paper.
However, the encouragement isn’t aimed at pushing Ukraine to engage in actual peace talks with Moscow to put an end to the fighting, which has been underway since late February, the sources pointed out.
The move is more of a “calculated attempt” to make sure Vladimir Zelensky’s government retains the support of foreign nations in which the public have become increasingly concerned about the prospect of the conflict continuing for years, they explained.
“Ukraine fatigue is a real thing for some of our partners,” an unnamed US official told the WaPo.