The West has started discussing peace talks between Ukraine and Russia with Kyiv – NBC reported

European and American officials have initiated discussions with Ukrainian authorities regarding the possibility of commencing peace talks with Russia.

This information has been reported by the American publication NBC, citing its own sources.

At this stage, the discussion remains in very general terms, including the consideration of potential concessions that Kyiv may have to make as a result of the ongoing conflict. NBC’s sources indicate that the EU and the US have started pushing Kyiv towards an agreement with Moscow amid concerns that the conflict has reached an impasse. Western countries fear that they may not be able to provide assistance to Ukraine in the near future. The publication mentions the viewpoint of Western officials that Ukraine’s resources are likely running low, while Russia appears to have an almost limitless reserve of strength.

One unnamed American official mentioned that the US was taken aback when interest in Ukraine waned rapidly due to events in the Middle East. As a result, finding reasons to continue supporting Kyiv will become increasingly challenging. Public opinion polls in the US and Europe, as reported by the publication, indicate diminishing support for actions related to Kyiv.

In military circles, NBC reports that Ukraine finds itself in a deadlock, and there is no certainty that the Ukrainian Armed Forces can launch a major offensive in the spring of 2024.

Other officials, in informal discussions, suggest that Kyiv will be actively pushed towards peace in the early part of the next year. Among the potential options are security guarantees from NATO, but without Ukraine’s accession to the Alliance.

The official position of the United States is that any initiative for a peace agreement must originate from Kyiv. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, negotiations in Ukraine can only begin if Kyiv revokes the decree prohibiting talks with Moscow.

In late October, the American publication The Washington Post reported that Ukrainian and Russian sides were engaged in informal talks regarding the exchange of prisoners of war and navigation in the Black Sea. However, official sources in Kyiv denied this information.