According to this North American channel, the meeting with Lavrov took place last April in New York and lasted several hours.
The meeting with Lavrov included, among other things, Richard Haas, a senior diplomat who stepped down in June as chairman of the Council on International Relations, an important think tank in Washington specializing in foreign policy.
European affairs expert Charles Kupzan and Russia affairs expert Thomas Graham, both former White House officials who now work on the think tank, attended the meeting, NBC reported.
During the talks, some issues related to the war in Ukraine were addressed, such as the fate of the territories occupied by Moscow and which Kiev never released, as well as the search for a diplomatic solution to the current conflict. February 2022.
The US administration, led by President Joe Biden, was aware of the talks, although they were not conducted under his orders, according to two sources cited by NBC.
Former US officials who met with Lavrov later reported the contents of the meeting to the White House’s National Security Council.
The Presidency of the United States (USA) did not comment on this information.
Andrew Bates, one of the White House pressmen, told reporters that Biden’s goal was to help put Ukraine on the battlefield to negotiate with Russia “from a position of maximum strength.”
Bates also emphasized that the Biden administration’s pronouncement was “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine,” arguing that Kiev should be involved in any negotiations.
The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory, which began on February 24 last year, has plunged Europe into what is considered the worst security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
“Hardcore explorer. Extreme communicator. Professional writer. General music practitioner. Prone to fits of apathy.”