Report: US and EU Officials Broach Topic of Peace Negotiations with Ukraine

Facts

• Officials from the US and the EU have reportedly approached the Ukrainian government in order to raise the subject of possible peace negotiations with Russia, according to one current and one former US official who spoke to NBC News.¹
• The sources told the publication that the topic was raised at last month's meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group — a regular summit of more than 50 nations that provide Ukraine with weapons and support. The talks, described as delicate, reportedly included broad outlines of what Ukraine might need to give up in order to reach a peace deal; it follows concerns from officials that the war has reached a stalemate and that Ukraine is running out of forces.¹
• However, in a live interview with NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy insisted that he's 'not ready' for negotiations with Russia. He added that the US and other countries know his position; that the Russians 'have to go out from our territory, only after that, the world can switch on diplomacy.'²
• Zelenskyy also addressed the report in a Saturday press conference with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen who made an unannounced visit to Ukraine. 'No leader of the United States or European Union, our partners — nobody puts pressure on us for us sitting at the negotiation table with Russia and give something away,' Zelenskyy said. It 'has never been like this and will never be,' he added.³
• Meanwhile, in an interview with Politico published on Monday, Andrii Yermak, Zelenskyy's chief of staff, hit out at Western countries that may be experiencing 'war fatigue.' It comes after Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni — in a call with Russian pranksters impersonating the head of the African Union — said there was 'a lot of fatigue … from all sides,' and that 'everyone understands that we need a way out.'⁴
• In response, Yermak said: 'Even if there are people who feel this fatigue, I’m sure they don’t want to wake up in a world tomorrow where there will be less freedom and less security, and the consequences of this last for decades.' He suggested that Meloni needed to brush up on her history and asked what would have happened to Britain or Poland if the US felt the same fatigue in World War II.⁴

Sources: ¹NBC, ²Kyiv Post, ³Politico (a) and ⁴Politico (b).

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by NBC. While the West stands ready to support Ukraine, the front lines have not shifted in months and there are concerns about how many more troops the country can field for battle. Nothing is decided, and it's Ukraine's decision, but perhaps now is the right time to start thinking about how the war can be brought to a close.
• Pro-Ukraine narrative, as provided by Kyiv Post. As Ukraine has made clear many times, it will not negotiate with terrorists who are illegally occupying the country's territory. Once Russia withdraws all its troops from Ukraine, only then can there be talk of diplomacy.
• Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by TASS. As Russia has reiterated time and again, Moscow stands ready to have meaningful discussions with Ukraine and its Western allies to bring the war to a close. However, as Russia has stipulated, this peace is dependent on Ukraine not aligning with NATO.

Predictions