Breaking news....6 Jul 2023 15:10
My sources at the state department and kremlin confirm high-level back-channel diplomacy taking place behind the scenes, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov met with members of the group for several hours in April in New York.
On the agenda of the April meeting were some of the thorniest issues in the war in Ukraine, like the fate of Russian-held territory that Ukraine may never be able to liberate, and the search for an elusive diplomatic off-ramp that could be tolerable to both sides.
Sitting down with Lavrov were Richard Haass, a former diplomat and the outgoing president of the council on foreign relations, current and former officials said. The group was joined by Europe expert Charles Kupchan and Russia expert Thomas Graham, both former White House and state department officials who are council on foreign relations fellows.