ALBAWABA - After over a year of the war between Ukraine and Russia, senior officials from the United States confirmed that the U.S. and Europe are conducting discussions with Kyiv to agree to a peace deal with Russia.
NBC News reported citing one current senior U.S. official and one former senior U.S. official familiar with the discussions that a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine is underway and will mean the end of the war.
Why was the Russia-Ukraine peace deal suggested?
According to the two officials, the U.S. and the E.U. are likely unable to provide more military assistance and aid to Ukraine anymore, especially after the start of the Israel-Gaza war on Oct. 7.
The U.S. and the E.U. official also added that the war in Ukraine has reached a "stalemate" point.
In addition, they added that the U.S. government - headed by President Joe Biden - fears that Ukraine is losing most of its forces amid ongoing war, meanwhile, Russia has a seemingly endless supply.
Furthermore, according to the two officials, the war in the Middle East which began on Oct. 7 has shifted the focus of the U.S. president and EU leaders away from the Ukraine war.
Earlier, Ukraine's President Zelensky said the war in Gaza is "taking away the focus" from the Russia-Ukraine war.
What do Ukraine need to do to reach a peace deal?
Officials said that talks for the peace death began a month ago when a meeting of representatives from over "50 nations supporting Ukraine, including NATO members, known as the Ukraine Defense Contact Group," took place.
Meanwhile, the two U.S. officials said that the U.S. and the West are not sure if Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready for any soon "peace talks" with Ukraine.
"It’s time to do a deal," the former senior U.S. official said amid discussions that Ukraine still needs more time and equipment to fight Russia.
The official further noted that the conversations of a possible peace deal between the two warring countries have included "very broad outlines of what Ukraine might need to give up to reach a deal."
Russia-Ukraine war
On Feb. 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in a televised speech a "special military operation" in Ukraine.
According to the latest report by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission, civilians killed in the Russian attacks on Ukraine topped 10,000, in addition to tens of thousands of others reported injured.
