For months, US and Russian officials have been meeting secretly in Switzerland to discuss the war in Ukraine, Reuters reported, citing diplomatic sources.
The latest of these meetings took place last week in Geneva, while the Munich Security Conference was underway. These talks are believed to have taken place through informal channels of communication opened after Donald Trump won the US presidential election in November 2024, but before the president's official inauguration in January.
According to sources cited in the article, the participants were not government officials, but people with diplomatic or security backgrounds. Apparently, some of Trump's advisers were aware of the talks.
It is not clear what was discussed, whether Ukrainian representatives were involved, or when these meetings began.
The White House National Security Council, the Ukrainian government and Russia's foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comment. The Swiss foreign ministry said meetings are held regularly in Switzerland between the parties involved in the Ukraine conflict and that it has been informed about them.
Two of the sources said at least one meeting took place in Geneva during last week's Munich Security Conference, a gathering of international political leaders and security chiefs in the German city.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin is reportedly planning to declare victory over Ukraine and NATO on February 24, the third anniversary of the Russian aggression. This was reported by Bild and the Kyiv Independent, among others, citing information from Ukrainian intelligence services.
Ukrainian military intelligence also claims that the Kremlin may use the recent US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia to impose its peace conditions on the world, seeking to portray governments in Europe that support Kiev as "enemies of peace," Kyiv Independent writes.
No concrete decision was announced after the meeting between the American and Russian delegations, but Ukraine's exclusion has raised alarm in Kiev and Europe. (A2 Televizion)
A2 CNN Livestream
MUND TE LEXONI GJITHASHTU
