
© NATO/Getty Images/Anadolu AgencyA session of the NATO-Russia Council in Brussels, Belgium • January 12, 2022
The US has proposed resuming long-stalled security talks under the
NATO-Russia Council (NRC) framework as part of efforts to negotiate a peace deal in the Ukraine conflict, Bloomberg has reported.
The report comes ahead of direct negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations.
The NRC, a forum created in 2002 for dialogue between the US-led military bloc and Moscow, effectively ceased practical operations in 2014. That year, Crimea joined the Russian Federation after holding a referendum following a Western-backed armed coup in Kiev.
The council met to discuss the situation in Ukraine 11 times, until the conflict's escalation in 2022, after which NATO cut off all communication.The US has reportedly offered to revive the NRC format as part of its efforts to talk Russia into freezing the Ukraine conflict. Last month, White House special envoy Steve Witkoff visited Moscow and reportedly attempted to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire that would suspend fighting along current front lines, in exchange for sanctions relief and US recognition of Crimea.
"The US has since added new details to the proposal, including an offer to revive security talks under the NATO-Russia Council," the outlet wrote on Thursday, citing an anonymous source familiar with the matter.
Comment: The actor has written the script. It is a tragedy. Exit stage left.