NEW YORK, September 17. /TASS/. Some of Kiev's allies have started discussing potential ways of ending the conflict in Ukraine, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.
According to the report, Ukraine's allies have started detailed discussions of scenarios of a negotiated end to the conflict and how it could be achieved. The reports said it is still up to Kiev to make a decision about any potential talks and no one is putting pressure on Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.
According to Bloomberg, as the conflict drags on without significant changes on the battlefield, some Western officials started to consider using diplomacy to break the stalemate. There are however concerns in some Western capitals that the effort could force Kiev to cease fire prematurely, the report said. The news service has not named any Western countries or Kiev’s allies in the story.
Bloomberg reported that some allies believe that the period between the US presidential election in November and the presidential inauguration in January could provide a window of opportunity during which the outgoing Joe Biden administration would have more political freedom to strike a deal. In the event that the US administration changes and far-right forces in Europe gain momentum, there could be uncertainty over continued military and financial support for Ukraine.
On September 12, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a roundtable meeting on Ukraine with heads of diplomatic missions that Russia was committed to resolving the Ukrainian crisis but did not see a willingness for honest diplomacy on the other side.