Top U.S. General Urges Diplomacy in Ukraine While Biden Advisers Resist - The New York Times

WASHINGTON — A disagreement has emerged astatine the highest levels of the United States authorities implicit whether to property Ukraine to question a diplomatic extremity to its warfare with Russia, with America’s apical wide urging negotiations portion different advisers to President Biden reason that it is excessively soon.

Gen. Mark A. Milley, the president of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has made the lawsuit successful interior meetings that the Ukrainians person achieved astir arsenic overmuch arsenic they could reasonably expect connected the battlefield earlier wintertime sets successful and truthful they should effort to cement their gains astatine the bargaining table, according to officials informed astir the discussions.

But different elder officials person resisted the idea, maintaining that neither broadside is acceptable to negociate and that immoderate intermission successful the warring would lone springiness President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia a accidental to regroup. While Mr. Biden’s advisers judge the warfare volition apt beryllium settled done negotiations eventually, officials said, they person concluded that the infinitesimal is not ripe and the United States should not beryllium seen arsenic pressuring the Ukrainians to clasp backmost portion they person momentum.

The debate, which the officials described connected information of anonymity due to the fact that they were not authorized to sermon delicate deliberations, has spilled retired into nationalist successful caller days arsenic General Milley made nationalist comments hinting astatine his backstage advice. “Seize the moment,” helium said successful a code successful New York connected Wednesday.

He elaborated successful an interrogation connected CNBC connected Thursday. “We’ve seen the Ukrainian subject combat the Russian subject to a standstill,” helium said. “Now, what the aboriginal holds is not known with immoderate grade of certainty, but we deliberation determination are immoderate possibilities present for immoderate diplomatic solutions.”

The White House, however, made a constituent of distancing itself from immoderate cognition that it is pushing President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine to cede territory to Russian invaders adjacent arsenic Moscow pulls forces backmost from the strategical metropolis of Kherson.

“The United States is not pressuring Ukraine,” Jake Sullivan, the president’s nationalist information adviser, told reporters connected Thursday. “We’re not insisting connected things with Ukraine. What we are doing is consulting arsenic partners and showing our enactment not conscionable done nationalist statements oregon motivation enactment but done the tangible, carnal enactment of the benignant of subject assistance I mentioned before.”

Indeed, the Pentagon connected Thursday announced that it was sending different $400 cardinal successful subject assistance to Ukraine. Among the weapons being shipped volition beryllium the archetypal mobile Avenger Air Defense Systems provided by the United States arsenic good arsenic missiles for HAWK aerial defence systems already provided by Spain, mortars, artillery rounds, Humvees, grenade launchers, acold upwind cogwheel and ammunition for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, oregon HIMARS, that person proved truthful effectual successful pushing backmost the Russians.

However, the Defense Department rebuffed Ukrainian requests for Gray Eagle MQ-1C drones, which American officials fearfulness could beryllium utilized to deed targets successful Russian territory, risking a unsafe escalation of the war, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The question of wherever the United States stands connected negotiations has animated conversations connected some sides of the Atlantic Ocean successful caller days arsenic American, Ukrainian, Russian and European officials effort to decipher the sometimes mixed signals from Washington.

A travel by Mr. Sullivan to Kyiv past week near immoderate with the content that the Biden medication was urging Mr. Zelensky to astatine slightest amusement willingness to negotiate, but American officials denied that.

Instead, they said, astatine the extremity of a gathering chiefly focused connected different issues related to the war, Mr. Sullivan suggested that Mr. Zelensky deliberation astir what “a conscionable peace,” a operation utilized by the Group of 7 nations past month, would look similar erstwhile the clip does get for negotiations down the road.

The disorder was exacerbated by ambiguous comments by Mr. Biden astatine a quality league connected Wednesday. Asked if helium thought Ukraine present had the leverage it needed to statesman negotiations, the president near the doorway open. “It remains to beryllium seen whether oregon not there’ll beryllium a judgement made arsenic to whether oregon not Ukraine is prepared to compromise with Russia,” helium said.

Pressed aboriginal astir whether helium was suggesting that Ukraine see giving up immoderate territory, Mr. Biden rapidly said no. “That’s up to the Ukrainians. Nothing astir Ukraine without Ukraine,” helium said, repeating the authoritative enactment that immoderate solution has to beryllium determined by Kyiv, not the United States oregon Europe. “I bash cognize 1 thing: We’re not going to archer them what they person to do.”

Some existent and erstwhile officials said the nuance of the administration’s stance has been lost. While not presently pressing for talks, the medication wants to beryllium prepared for diplomacy astatine immoderate aboriginal day erstwhile it would marque sense.

“My consciousness is the medication is dipping its toed successful the anticipation of diplomacy,” said Charles A. Kupchan, a Georgetown University prof who served arsenic a Europe advisor to President Barack Obama and precocious wrote an effort promoting talks. “They’re trying to thread the needle. They privation to present the anticipation of diplomacy without appearing to beryllium telling the Ukrainians what to do.” He added: “It’s mounting the table, but it’s not sitting astatine the table.”

The evident willingness to entertain talks astatine immoderate constituent has drawn crisp disapproval from immoderate overseas argumentation experts who reason that it would beryllium a mistake to stake against Ukraine’s quality to triumph much of its territory backmost from Russian occupiers.

“The United States and European partners should not forestall the possibility, adjacent likelihood, of much Ukrainian subject occurrence by insisting connected a cease-fire successful spot oregon by assuming that it’s intolerable for Ukraine to, for example, liberate the Donbas oregon adjacent Crimea,” Daniel Fried, a erstwhile vocation diplomat present astatine the Atlantic Council, wrote connected the Just Security website.

Mr. Zelensky and his aides reiterated this week that Ukraine had repeatedly projected resuming bid talks with Russia, and that specified talks could not statesman until Russian troops retreat and instrumentality the territory they person seized. But analysts noted that the Ukrainian person did not repetition earlier statements that talks seemingly could not commencement portion Mr. Putin was inactive starring Russia.

More broadly, determination has been immense enactment among the Ukrainian nationalist for sustained subject offensives against Russian positions, and each announcement of Russian setbacks has been met with an outpouring of nationalist enthusiasm. Even earlier the caller question of Ukrainian subject advances, Mr. Zelensky was nether dense and sustained governmental unit to garbage immoderate concession that would permission Russian forces successful power of Ukrainian territory.

The statement successful Washington comes arsenic questions are being raised astir the durability of American support for the Ukrainian warfare effort. Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the Republican person hoping to go House talker successful the recently elected Congress, has rejected a “blank check” successful continued assistance to Ukraine, though different Republican leaders, including Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, stay steadfast backers of Kyiv.

A radical of progressive House Democrats recently released a missive recommending negotiations, past withdrew it nether criticism. But immoderate connected the near proceed to propulsion for talks. “I judge that progressives person ever advocated to leaning connected diplomatic solutions,” Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York, told the Intercept this week. “We should proceed to thin connected that.”

In interior discussions astatine the White House, General Milley has been a beardown dependable for diplomacy but does not privation to springiness the content of undercutting the Ukrainians, officials said. He has pointed to outer imagery showing that the Russians are digging trenches and establishing steadfast lines done overmuch of the occupied territory successful mentation for winter, erstwhile the fronts presumably volition stabilize. The pullback from Kherson appeared to beryllium aimed astatine mounting up a much defensible position.

Given that, officials said, the wide has argued that warring whitethorn easiness during the acold months with little accidental of further cardinal alteration connected the ground, offering a model of accidental for talks. In White House discussions, helium cites World War I, erstwhile the 2 sides engaged successful years of trench warfare with small alteration successful territory but millions of pointless casualties, an illustration helium aired successful his code astatine the Economic Club of New York this week arsenic well.

The constituent is not to reward Mr. Putin, officials said successful describing the general’s view, but that possibly this is simply a clip erstwhile Ukraine and its allies tin commencement moving toward a governmental solution due to the fact that an enduring subject solution whitethorn not beryllium obtainable successful the adjacent future.

General Milley’s judgement is not shared by Mr. Biden oregon Mr. Sullivan, the officials said. Mr. Putin has shown nary willingness to negotiate, they said, and the Ukrainians person been emboldened by their occurrence connected the battlefield, making them reluctant to commercialized distant territory astatine the bargaining table.

If the United States pushed for talks astatine this point, the officials said, reflecting Mr. Sullivan’s constituent of view, that would nonstop a connection to Mr. Putin that each helium had to bash would beryllium to resistance retired the warfare a small longer and yet the Americans would bash his enactment for him.

“Only Zelensky and his authorities tin marque those decisions,” said Steven Pifer, a erstwhile American ambassador to Ukraine present affiliated with Stanford University. “Washington should not beryllium pressing him to bash so, and astatine slightest truthful far, it appears that Washington understands that.”

Helene Cooper and Zach Montague contributed reporting from Washington, and Andrew E. Kramer from Snihurivka, Ukraine.