US, albeit covertly, wants Kiev to show interest in talks with Russia

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According to those familiar with the negotiations, US President Joe Biden's administration is secretly pressing Kiev to demonstrate a willingness to negotiate with Moscow.

Washington does not want Ukraine to start negotiations with Russia but rather to reassure Kiev it has the support of other countries, according to the newspaper. "Ukraine fatigue is a real thing for some of our partners," one US official told The Washington Post.

The discussions highlight how complicated the Biden administration's position on Ukraine has become, as US officials publicly pledge to support Kiev with massive sums of aid "for as long as it takes" while hoping for a resolution to the conflict that has taken a toll on the world economy and sparked fears of nuclear war over the past eight months.

While US officials agree with their Ukrainian counterparts that Putin is allegedly not serious about talks, for the time being, they acknowledge that President Volodymyr Zelensky's ban on talks has caused concern in parts of Europe, Africa, and Latin America, where the war's disruptive effects on the availability and cost of food and fuel are most acute, according to the WSJ.

Following the start of Moscow's military operation in late February, Russia-Ukraine talks began. The final round of talks in Istanbul concluded on March 29. The discussions have since come to a standstill.

Read next: Russian leadership, including Putin, still ready for talks on Ukraine

In late September, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow was still open to talks with Kiev and called on Ukraine to stop the hostilities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in turn, stated that Kiev was ready for dialogue with Moscow, but only if another president came to power in Russia.

The WSJ reported that the Kremlin responded that Moscow would wait for a change in the stance of Ukraine's current President or his successor.

What does the American population have to say?

In the United States, polls show eroding support among Republicans for continuing to finance Ukraine’s military at current levels, suggesting the White House may face resistance following Tuesday’s midterm elections as it seeks to continue a security assistance program that has delivered Ukraine the largest such annual sum since the end of the Cold War.

Read next: Republican decision to cut aid if they win elections "shocked" Ukraine

During a visit to Kiev on Friday, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stated that the US backed a just and sustainable peace in Ukraine and that this support will remain regardless of internal politics, according to the WSJ. 

“We fully intend to ensure that the resources are there as necessary and that we’ll get votes from both sides of the aisle to make that happen,” he said during a briefing.

Midterm Elections and Ukraine

In the United States, growing inflation tied to the war has hampered President Biden and his party ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm elections and generated new concerns about the future of US security support, which has totaled $18.2 billion since the war began.

According to a Wall Street Journal poll released on November 3, 48%n of Republicans believed the US was doing "too much" to support Ukraine, up from 6% in March.

Progressives in the Democratic Party are asking for diplomacy to avoid a lengthy war, releasing but subsequently retracting a letter urging Biden to redouble his efforts to find "a feasible framework" for a ceasefire.

According to the WSJ, concerns of a protracted battle are especially acute in countries that were previously hesitant to join the US-led alliance in support of Ukraine, either due to relations with Moscow or a reluctance to follow Washington's lead.