Washington Wants Kiev to Signal Openness to Dialogue With Russia, Report Suggests

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The administration of US President Joe Biden is privately encouraging Kiev to demonstrate a readiness to negotiate with Moscow, American newspaper reports citing people familiar with the discussions.

The newspaper said on Saturday that Washington does not want Ukraine to start negotiations with Russia, but, instead, aims to ensure that Kiev has the support of other countries.

"Ukraine fatigue is a real thing for some of our partners," one US official said.

According to the newspaper, concerns are mounting in parts of Europe, Africa and Latin America, as food and fuel prices are rising amid Russia’s ongoing special operation in Ukraine.

Russia-Ukraine talks began at the end of February after the start of Moscow's military operation. The last round of the negotiations concluded in Istanbul on March 29. The talks have since stalled.

In late September, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow was still open to talks with Kiev and called on Ukraine to stop the hostilities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in turn, stated that Kiev was ready for dialogue with Moscow, but only if another president came to power in Russia. The Kremlin responded that Moscow would wait for a change in the stance of Ukraine's current president or his successor.