Reuters: Putin offered US to freeze war in Ukraine, Washington refused
Sources say the US refused to put pressure on Ukraine
The US authorities have refused to discuss Vladimir Putin's proposal to freeze the conflict and ceasefire in Ukraine, which the Russian president has been passing on to Washington through intermediaries.
Source. Three Russian sources familiar with the discussions on the proposal told Reuters.
According to the agency's interlocutors, Putin sent signals to Washington in 2023 both publicly and privately through intermediaries, including Moscow's Arab partners in the Middle East.
He was ready to freeze the conflict at its current position, but did not want to give up the occupied territories of Ukraine controlled by the Russian military.
"The contacts with the Americans led to nothing," a senior Russian source familiar with the discussions in late 2023 and early 2024 told Reuters.
Another source also told Reuters that the Americans told Moscow through intermediaries that they would not discuss a possible ceasefire without Ukraine's participation, and that is why the contacts led to nothing.
A third source familiar with the discussions said: "Everything has failed with the Americans." He noted that the US refused to put pressure on Ukraine.
According to all three sources, Putin's message was relayed to Washington, where it was discussed by senior officials, including White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, CIA Director Bill Burns and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
Moscow had expected Sullivan to speak with Putin's foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, and outline the next steps towards a ceasefire.
However, in January, Sullivan told Ushakov that Washington was not ready to talk about it without Ukraine.
"Putin said: "I knew they wouldn't do anything," a Russian source told Reuters. According to the agency's interlocutors, the Kremlin sees no point in further contacts with the US on this issue, so the war will continue.
Background. Earlier, Bild wrote that the United States and Germany allegedly want to force Kyiv to start negotiations with Russia – for this purpose, they do not provide Ukraine with enough weapons for the offensive, but only for defence.
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