With Russia’s war in Ukraine now in its third week, US and European officials have little optimism that diplomatic channels can offer a way out of the conflict.
Talks between Ukrainian and Russian diplomats this week have not produced any notable progress. Supposedly safe evacuation routes out of the country have been repeatedly contested.
The number of civilians killed continues to rise, and at the end of the week, both sides exchange accusations over the use of chemical weapons.
While Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that there had been “certain positive advances” in negotiations with Ukraine, American and European officials and diplomats who spoke to the CNN expressed deep skepticism about the state of the negotiations.
No one feels that Putin’s actions so far suggest that the Russian leader is ready to find a diplomatic way to end the war.
The United States and its allies have enacted new sanctions on Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine, and US President Joe Biden maintains contact with European leaders as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
But US officials privately acknowledged that they don’t believe any of these sanctions will change Putin’s mind, and many don’t believe Russia’s losses in Ukraine either.
The Biden administration is resisting betting on anyone involved in early efforts to broker a solution to end the crisis in Ukraine. US officials say they have yet to see any tangible progress and continue to see Ukraine and Russia as the only key players in driving a solution.
“A lot of different countries can try to shape things however they want, but at the end of the day, it will likely come down to what President Zelensky and President Putin are willing to accept,” said a State Department official.
Source: CNN Brasil
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