Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is testing whether the United States is ready for talks to end Russia's war in Ukraine, UNN reports citing Bloomberg.
According to two people close to the Kremlin, Putin has imposed indirect channels on the United States to signal that he is open to discussions, including potential future agreements on Ukraine's security.
U.S. officials say they "see no indication that the Russian president is serious about finding a way to end the fighting, which has reached a deadly stalemate as the war enters its third year.
The publication notes that hints of Russia's openness to talks - even if they are insincere - could help sow division among Ukraine's allies, isolating Kyiv and undermining President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's efforts to win support for his own peace formula, which includes a complete Russian withdrawal.
The people close to the Kremlin, who asked not to be identified to discuss matters that are not public, said the signals were relayed to senior U.S. officials last month through an intermediary they declined to name. Putin, they said, may be willing to consider dropping his insistence on Ukraine's neutral status and even permanently abandoning opposition to eventual NATO membership - the threat of which was Russia's central justification for the invasion.
But it will come at a price that Kyiv has categorically rejected: recognition of the Kremlin's control over the territory it has occupied in recent years, which now accounts for roughly 18% of Ukraine's territory, including land seized since its invasion began two years ago.
"President Putin has repeatedly stated that Russia has been, is and will continue to be open to negotiations on Ukraine," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in response to a question from Bloomberg News. "We are determined to achieve our goals. And I would prefer to complete this diplomatically. If not, the military operation will continue until we achieve our goals.
"We are not aware of the described changes in Russia's position," said US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson. "Ukraine will decide if, when, and how to negotiate with Russia.
The publication also quotes former White House official Fiona Hill: "They want everyone to think that there is a back channel, and it's so secret that no one can figure it out, because it scares the hell out of Ukrainians.
"The Russians want us to create the perception that there is a channel and that everything depends on the United States, so that no one or nothing else plays a role," she added. "It's a classic Russian play.
The idea that there is a secret back channel has also been spreading in European capitals, although officials deny knowing anything about it.