WASHINGTON, December 27. /TASS/. US and European officials are gradually shifting their focus from supporting Ukraine's goal of defeating Russia to improving its position in any possible talks aiming to end the conflict, Politico reported, citing sources.
Officials in the US and Europe "are quietly shifting their focus" in Ukraine and discussing a transition to a more defensive posture after Ukraine’s recent failed counteroffensive, according to the report aid.
"Such a negotiation would likely mean giving up parts of Ukraine to Russia," the newspaper said.
"Those discussions [about peace talks] are starting, but [the US administration] can’t back down publicly because of the political risk" to US President Joe Biden, a congressional official told Politico.
The Biden administration is also "focused on rapidly resurrecting Ukraine’s own defense industry to supply the desperately needed weaponry," the report said.
Discussions with Ukraine about redeploying into a defensive posture were also helped by the weather, which will make it harder for Ukraine to go on the offensive in the next two to three months, an official said.
Politico said that for Biden, navigating the Ukrainian conflict amid a tough election campaign "will prove tricky at best," the report said.
A European diplomat based in Washington said that the European Union is also pushing the narrative of expediting Ukraine’s membership in NATO to "put the Ukrainians in the best situation possible to negotiate" with Moscow, according to the report.