WH: US does not pressure Ukraine for peace talks with Russia

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National Security Advisor to the White House Jake Sullivan stated on Thursday that the US has not pressured Ukraine to engage in peace talks with Russia this winter in an attempt to counter media allegations.

"The United States is not pressuring Ukraine, we're not insisting on things with Ukraine. What we're doing is consulting as partners," Sullivan explained during the press briefing.

Earlier this week, US media had argued that Biden's administration has in fact pressured Ukraine to enter into a peace deal with Russia.

On a different note, Sullivan informed the press that Biden has no intention to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali, noting that any relation with the Russians is limited to the case of Brittney Griner and remains at the senior levels.

"There's no plans for the President to meet with the Russian Foreign Minister," adding that "We are dealing with the Russians at very senior levels and our diplomats on the ground are working overtime to ensure that they are staying in close touch with their Russian counterparts on her [Brittney Griner] case."

Pramila Jayapal, the chair of the #US House of Representatives' progressive caucus, has retracted a letter signed by 30 members requesting Joe #Biden to engage in direct talks with #Russia to stop the war in #Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/4paZO24Vv9

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 26, 2022

WSJ: US & Russia unofficial channels open via official representatives

In an effort to lessen the possibility of a larger conflict over Ukraine and warn Moscow against using nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction, Sullivan has recently held private conversations with top advisers to Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to US and allied officials cited in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report.

According to officials cited in the WSJ, Sullivan has spoken with Yuri Ushakov, Putin's foreign policy advisor. The officials further indicated that Sullivan had spoken with Nikolai Patrushev as well.

The report explained that the objective has been to prevent the risk of escalation and maintain open lines of communication rather than to seek a resolution to end the war in Ukraine.

When WSJ asked if Sullivan had secret communications with Ushakov or Patrushev, spokesperson Adrienne Watson of the National Security Council responded, "People claim a lot of things."

When contacted for comment, the Kremlin did not provide any, said the WSJ report.

Asked by reporters about the WSJ article, Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Monday: There are a lot of fakes in western newspapers, this needs to be taken into consideration.

"We have nothing to say about this report. Many 'fakes' are published by Anglo-Saxon newspapers. Therefore, in this case, you need to contact either the newspaper or the White House."

Several US sources, according to WSJ, said that Sullivan is renowned within the administration for advocating for a line of contact with Russia, even though other top policymakers believe that conversations would be futile in the present diplomatic and military context.

Ivo Daalder, who served as the US ambassador to NATO during the Obama administration, according to the report said “I think it’s always important, especially for nuclear-armed countries, to maintain open channels of communication to help understand what each side is thinking and thereby avoid the possibility of an accidental confrontation or war,” adding that “National-security advisers are the closest conduit to the Oval Office without bringing the president directly into that communication channel.”