In recent months, including last week, US and Russian officials have held secret meetings in Switzerland for informal talks on the war in Ukraine, three sources told Reuters, Focus reports.
The sources describe the meetings as a "second time" - an informal diplomatic channel to improve communication and exchange ideas. Some of the contacts date back to the transition period after Donald Trump's election victory on November 5.
While the participants have diplomatic and security expertise, they are not government officials and it is not clear whether they were officially sent by their governments, two of the sources said. Their identities have not been disclosed. At least a small circle of Trump's advisers were briefed on the meetings, one of the sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. Many details remain unknown, including the agenda of the meetings, whether Ukrainian officials were present and when exactly the talks began. But the secret contacts underscore efforts by the United States and Russia to explore options for ending the war despite a near-total freeze on formal diplomatic contacts under the previous administration of Joe Biden. Trump, who has been in office for just a month, has sharply changed Washington's approach to the three-year conflict, engaging directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin and pushing for a quick peace deal. Senior U.S. officials met with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, one of the sources said. At least one of the meetings in Switzerland was held in Geneva during last week's Munich Security Conference - an international forum attended by political leaders and security experts.
Last year, British media reported similar talks for a "second time" in 2023 and early 2024, when Putin sent signals that he was ready to consider a ceasefire in Ukraine. However, these contacts have not led to concrete results.
Historically, such informal diplomatic channels have helped build dialogue between warring parties in the hope that improved communication could lead to formal negotiations.
In 2023 NBC reported that former U.S. national security officials had secret conversations with Russians believed to be close to the Kremlin, some of whom eventually met with Lavrov.
One source suggested that these unofficial contacts may have now lost their significance, as U.S. and Russian officials have established direct diplomatic channels of dialogue in recent weeks.