National Security Council’s top communications official John Kirby said the White House will not hold talks with Russia regarding the war in Ukraine without a representative of Kyiv at the table.
It comes following reports that former U.S. national security officials are holding secret talks with Moscow in an effort to help set the stage for diplomatic talks on ending the war.
Kirby insisted during an interview with ABC’s This Week on Sunday that National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan was not involved in the meetings, but was ‘in general’ aware there were behind-the-scenes discussions.
‘Mr. Sullivan was not involved. We weren’t participating in that,’ the NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications said. ‘These were private entities, private individuals meeting with Russian officials, certainly within their right to do that.’
‘I don’t know how much foreknowledge he had on this, but it wasn’t like the United States or the government was involved in any way,’ Kirby assured.
He also said that he ‘understands’ the ‘angst’ regarding the talks, but wanted to assure Ukraine that the U.S. is not leading the discussion.
Joe Biden’s administration is aware of the discussions meant to lead toward an end of the Eastern European conflict, but the talks have not manifested from the direction of the president or his team, Kirby confirmed following reports.
NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby assured Ukrainians on Sunday that no talks are taking place between U.S. officials and Russia without Kyiv also at the table
Comes following reports that former U.S. national security officials are holding secret talks with Russians officials – including Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov – to set the stage for a diplomatic end to the war with Ukraine
‘In general, we were aware that discussions were happening at a private level,’ Kirby conceded. ‘But we weren’t passing messages through them. We weren’t setting the stage for them. We weren’t encouraging those discussions or engendering them in any way.’
He further assured: ‘The president is being clear that we will have no discussions with Russia about negotiating an end to this war without Ukraine at the table.’
Officials reveal that the discussions fall under what is known as ‘Track Two diplomacy,’ which are unofficial talks involving private citizens – and not those currently serving in government roles.
In at least one conversation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with former U.S. and current U.S. officials.
That April meeting, current and former officials told NBC News, saw Lavrov meet with former diplomat and outgoing president of the Council on Foreign Relations Richard Haass. He also sat down with Europe expert Charles Kupchan and Russia expert Thomas Graham – both former White House and State Department officials serving as fellows on the Council on Foreign Relations.
‘We’ve been clear, nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine,’ Kirby said in an interview with ABC’s This Week on Sunday, adding he understands Ukrainians might feel ‘angst’ over reported talks
‘These were private discussions. And the United States government was not involved in any way,’ Kirby told ABC’s Martha Raddatz when pressed on if Ukrainian officials were kept in the loop on talks.
‘I can’t speak to the degree to which Ukrainian officials knew they were going on or not,’ he said. ‘They were private discussions not sanctioned by the United States government.’
‘But again, we’ve been clear, nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.’
The war in eastern Europe kicked-off in February 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine.
Since then, the U.S. and world has provided billions worth of munitions and weapons aid to help Ukraine stand up against the Russian dictatorship.
The meetings are meant to lay the groundwork for future negotiations to bring an end to the nearly one-and-a-half-year war.
On the agenda during April’s several-hour long meeting in New York were some of the touchiest issues for Russia, including the future of territory in Ukraine currently held by Russia that might never be liberated and a diplomatic-style off-ramp to the ongoing violence.
Talks with Lavrov included with former diplomat and outgoing president of the Council on Foreign Relations Richard Haass (center top) as well as Europe expert Charles Kupchan (bottom right) and Russia expert Thomas Graham (bottom left) – both former White House and State Department officials serving as fellows on the Council on Foreign Relations.
Asked if the talks between private citizens and Russian government is ‘helpful,’ Kirby said it’s ‘not unusual.’
‘You can hardly blame [Ukrainian officials] for being concerned about any potential negotiations or discussions with the Russians about ending the war that they’re not included in, which is again why the president has been adamant. There’ll be nothing said about Ukraine or by ending this war without Ukraine at the table,’ Kirby reiterated.
‘So I can understand the angst and concern about this. But again, I want to assure, the United States government was not behind these talks.’
