USA: In order to encourage negotiations with Moscow, London has proposed giving Kiev even more weapons and security guarantees just short of membership in the US-led military bloc, according to the Wall Street Journal on Friday.
Paris and Berlin are said to support the initiative and have already advised President Vladimir Zelensky to speak with them, though he has refused.
Despite publicly calling for "a military offensive that pushes back the Russian front in order to open the way for a return to negotiations," French President Emmanuel Macron has privately advised Zelensky to make "difficult decisions," according to officials who spoke to the Journal.
According to people familiar with the conversation, Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Zelensky over dinner at the Elysee Palace earlier this month that he needed to start thinking about peace talks. London, Paris, and Berlin all declined to comment on the record.
"We keep saying that Russia must not win, but what does that mean? If the war continues at this rate, Ukraine's losses will become unbearable," a senior French official told the Journal. "And no one thinks they'll be able to reclaim Crimea."
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According to the outlet, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has put together a plan to give Kiev "broader access to advanced military equipment, weapons, and ammunition," which will be discussed at the NATO summit in July.
"The NATO summit must produce a clear offer to Ukraine, as well as give Zelensky a political win that he can present at home as an incentive for negotiations," an unnamed British official told the outlet. If Moscow sees that the West is willing to increase its support for Kiev, it may be convinced that it cannot achieve its military objectives, the official added.
According to unnamed officials from both countries, France and Germany support the initiative and see it as a way to "boost Ukrainian confidence" and provide an incentive to begin negotiations with Russia.
According to the officials, Sunak's plan does not include stationing NATO forces in Ukraine or offering Kiev "Article 5" commitments to intervene in the event of an attack. Andrey Melnik, Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister, said it was a good first step, but Kiev needed "a clear commitment that it does not exclude NATO membership, which is the only solution for long-term peace."
The Russian Foreign Ministry listed its conditions for a diplomatic solution to the conflict on Friday, including the end of the West's "supply of weapons and mercenaries" to Kiev and Ukraine returning to neutrality after being demilitarized and “denazified.”
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Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has stated that Russia is winning the logistical war of attrition, leaving it unclear how much weapons and ammunition the US-led alliance could spare for Ukraine.
Zelensky has ruled out any talks with Moscow, declaring on Friday, "There is nothing to talk about and nobody to talk about over there."
