Day 282: Biden 'Prepared to Speak' with Putin; Kremlin Says Putin Open to Negotiations

Facts

• During a state visit to the US from French Pres. Emmanuel Macron on Thursday — seen as a move to repair a frayed relationship between the US and France amid European concerns over the Inflation Reduction Act — US Pres. Biden said he was prepared to speak to Russia's Vladimir Putin if it meant ending the war in Ukraine.
• "The fact of the matter is, I have no immediate plans to contact Mr. Putin," Biden said in a response to a reporter. He continued: "I'm prepared to speak with Mr. Putin if in fact there is an interest in him deciding he's looking for a way to end the war. He hasn't done that yet. If that's the case, in consultation with my French and my NATO friends, I'll be happy to sit down with Putin to see what he has in mind."
• On Friday, responding to the remarks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists, "The president of the Russian Federation has always been, is and remains open to negotiations in order to ensure our interests."
• However, Peskov said the refusal of the US to recognize "the new territories" as Russia was hindering a search for potential compromise. Peskov referenced Biden's previous comments in which he said negotiations are possible only after Putin leaves Ukraine and stressed that Putin was nonetheless open to negotiations, adding: "Of course, the most preferable way to achieve our interests is through peaceful, diplomatic means."
• The exchange comes following a two-hour, televised press conference from Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday. While defending the attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure as a justified response to the threat posed by the Ukrainian military, he further accused the US and NATO of hypocrisy and called them direct participants of the war — while also signaling that Russia was prepared to talk.
• Elsewhere, Ukraine's presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak on Wednesday said that as many as 13K Ukrainian servicemen have been killed in action — a figure that may be conservative given losses at earlier points were quoted at 100-200 men a day. Earlier, EU Commission Pres. Ursula von der Leyen generated controversy after publishing a video that said 100K Ukrainian soldiers were killed.
• On the ground, Russian attacks were reported in Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, and Kherson. Military developments in these areas include: Ukrainian officials said three civilians were killed and seven more were injured in Kherson in the last 24 hours, while six civilians were injured in Donetsk; two people were injured in Kharkiv while another civilian was reported in Dnipropetrovsk, and; officials from the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) reported that two civilians were killed in Ukrainian attacks.
• Meanwhile, following earlier reports of letter-bomb threats in Spain, a spokesman for Ukraine's foreign ministry has alleged that Ukraine's embassies in Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Croatia, and Italy all received "bloodstained packages" containing animal eyes on Friday. "We have reason to believe that a well-planned campaign of causing terror and intimidating the embassies and consulates of Ukraine is taking place," he said.

Sources: Guardian, CBS, Reuters, Al Jazeera, and Ukrinform.

Narratives

• Anti-Russia narrative, as provided by Newsweek. In falsely accusing the US and NATO of being participants in this war, the Russian foreign minister slipped up and called this what it really is — a Russian war, not a "special military operation." The true motives of Russian atrocities can not be obfuscated.
• Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by Fox News. Of course, the US and NATO are participants in this conflict. They are supplying weapons, training personnel, and are involved in planning and logistics. However, despite the West's behavior and characterizations, Russia is nevertheless prepared to hold negotiations.

Predictions