The US talks with the Kremlin and asks Ukraine to negotiate with Russia

As winter approaches and the energy crisis begins to suffocate the citizens of Western countries, more and more are openly oppose continuing to send money and arms to kyiv.

Just look at how dozens of Republican politicians running for the US legislative elections (the midterm) have repeatedly promised “cut off the faucet” if they are elected. They do so, moreover, with the support of a large part of their voters, since 48% believe that too much is being done to help Ukraineaccording to a survey of Wall Street Journal.

[Se acerca un ‘invierno republicano’ en Ucrania: EEUU podría reducir su apoyo tras las ‘midterms’]

But it seems that it is not just the Conservative Party: the Democratic administration, which has contributed more than $57 billion to the Ukrainian defense, is also showing signs of tiredness.

The most obvious, perhaps, is the tense conversation they had Biden and the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelenskywhere the first asked the second for a more gratitude and less demand when ordering weapons.

However, beyond the anecdote, the White House is privately encouraging Ukrainian leaders to do not close the door to dialogue with the Russiansaccording to him Washington Post. These pressures do not mean that the Americans are going to reduce their military support, according to the newspaper, but they do want Zelenski abandon your refusal to participate in the peace talks unless Vladimir Putin is removed.

The goal, it seems, is to ensure that kyiv remains in favor with Western countries. “Ukrainian fatigue is a real thing for some of our partners,” a US official told the post.

The warning that the West could lose patience with a long war is not new. Ukraine, in fact, was already contemplating such a possibility. In part, it is the reason why the Ukrainians launched their counteroffensive in the northeast and south of the country in summer: to anticipate the cold season, when foreign aid could decrease.

[El desencuentro entre EEUU y Zelenski: la llamada en la que Biden “perdió los nervios”]

This scenario was also expected and desired by the Russian army, which now bases its military strategy on waiting for low temperatures to stop the Ukrainian advance and, above all, waiting for the US and the European Union, hit by the consequences of the sanctions to Russian energy, cease or at least decrease their support.

“Open channels” with Russia

The United States has not only exchanged views with the Ukrainian government throughout the war, but has also apparently been in direct contact with the Kremlin. According to him Wall Street Journalnewspaper that published this information, the White House national security adviser, Jake Sullivanhas been involved in confidential conversations with senior Russian officials with the goal of avoiding a nuclear escalation. Specifically, he would have spoken with his Russian counterpart, Nikolai Patrushevand with Yuri UshakovPutin’s foreign policy adviser.

Sullivan himself has confirmed this week that “the channels to communicate with the Russian Federation at higher levels” remained open between Washington and Moscow, according to Reuters. “We’ve done it when it has been necessary to clarify possible misunderstandings and try to reduce the possibility of catastrophes such as the potential use of nuclear weapons,” he said during an event at the Economic Club of New York.

For her part, the White House spokeswoman, Karine Jean Pierrehas indicated that only issues of interest to the United States have been discussed and no on how to end the war. “Our talks have focused only on risk reduction and the relationship between the United States and Russia,” she told a news conference.