Biden trial balloon to Putin pops quickly
Talks not viewed as a ‘fruitful’ approach
WASHINGTON • President Joe Biden floated a trial balloon to President Vladimir Putin intended to determine whether Russia, after months of battlefield losses and stalled gains, is ready to end its invasion of Ukraine.
It appeared to quickly pop.
Biden has avoided talking to Putin since the Russian leader sent his armed forces into Ukraine last February, called him a war criminal responsible for thousands of deaths, and atrocities and said he “cannot remain in power.”
But at a news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, Biden seemed to offer an opening.
“Let me choose my words very carefully,” Biden said. “I’m prepared to speak with Mr. Putin if in fact there is an interest in him deciding he’s looking for a way to end the war. He hasn’t done that yet.”
The Kremlin shot back that Putin is “open to negotiations” but that the West must accept Russian demands, a sign that Moscow is sticking to its desire to control part of Ukraine and show the Russian people that his “special military operation” is not in vain.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby, asked about Biden’s comments on Friday, told reporters Biden has no intention of talking to Putin right now because the conditions for such talks are still not there.
“We’re just not at a point now where talks seem to be a fruitful avenue to approach right now,” he said.
Biden and his national security advisers have wondered for months what it would take to entice Putin into a diplomatic off-ramp. The United States has sent more than $18 billion in American weaponry to Ukraine to help repel Russia, and tens of billions of dollars in other aid.
“We’re trying to figure out what is Putin’s off-ramp ... Where does he find a way out? Where does he find himself in a position he does not, not only lose face but lose significant power in Russia,” Biden said at a Democratic fundraiser in New York in October.
Speculation about talks to end the war have accelerated as Moscow’s war gains have stalled, while its missile strikes against electric power facilities in Ukraine have raised the possibility that millions of Ukrainians will face the winter without electricity.