(TheLibertyRevolution.com)- The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that “sources” claim National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan had been holding undisclosed talks with top Russian officials in the hope of reducing the risk that the war in Ukraine moves beyond its borders or escalates into a nuclear conflict.
Citing unnamed US and allied officials, the Journal reported that in recent months, Sullivan held confidential talks with Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov as well as Sullivan’s Russian counterpart, Security Council secretary Nikolai Patrushev, but these talks were never publicly disclosed.
National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson refused to comment on the report, saying in a statement to the Wall Street Journal, “People claim a lot of things.”
The unnamed officials in the Journal report didn’t say how many phone calls took place or when they happened.
There have not been many high-level contacts between the United States and Russia that have been made public in recent months.
In July, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US had presented Russia with a “substantial proposal” to secure the release of imprisoned Americans Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan. People familiar with the offer said the administration proposed to swap Whelan and Griner for Viktor Bout, a convicted Russian arms dealer. However, since that time, there have been no outward signs of progress in the negotiations.
But regarding the war in Ukraine, the Biden administration has insisted that any talks on ending the conflict should be held between Moscow and Kyiv.
The West has accused Moscow of ramping up its nuclear rhetoric, most recently by accusing Kyiv of planning to use a dirty bomb, a claim Kyiv has flatly denied. The US and its allies have warned that Moscow could be planning to orchestrate a dirty bomb attack itself as a pretext for escalating the conflict.
Last Friday, Jake Sullivan traveled to Kyiv to pledge Washington’s “unwavering and unflinching” support.
