Ukraine has had 0 interest in "peace" that didn't restore their pre-war borders, and Russia has had 0 interest in even pulling back to the 2022 borders let alone the 2014 ones.
So no, this did not happen.
“According to multiple former senior U.S. officials we spoke with, in April 2022, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators appeared to have tentatively agreed on the outlines of a negotiated interim settlement: Russia would withdraw to its position on February 23, when it controlled part of the Donbas region and all of Crimea, and in exchange, Ukraine would promise not to seek NATO membership and instead receive security guarantees from a number of countries.”
Except neither side was ever remotely willing to consider peace on those terms. Especially not by April. Ukraine might have agreed to that in the 1st few days when they were actually worried they might not be able to stabilize, but Russia wouldn't have. By April Ukraine was including Crimea in all peace talks, which caused Russia to walk.
All the peace talks were publicly reported and both sides were never close. It was all just theater.
I'd say that any testimony from "former senior US officials" should be met with skepticism, to speak with restraint.
After all, CNN is staffed with a variety of these ex-apparatchiks.
And a cease-fire or rapprochement is against the wishes of our military-industrial complex and the bureaucrats who want to maintain Russia's pariah status.
okay but Russia has been against peace, too. Let's not all pretend that the aggressor, Russia, was just disciplining an unruly child and then prepared to withdraw like the Chinese did in Vietnam.
Russia invaded 100% with the intent to conquer the country and install a pro-Russia puppet regime.
Ukraine has had 0 interest in "peace" that didn't restore their pre-war borders, and Russia has had 0 interest in even pulling back to the 2022 borders let alone the 2014 ones.
So no, this did not happen.
Except neither side was ever remotely willing to consider peace on those terms. Especially not by April. Ukraine might have agreed to that in the 1st few days when they were actually worried they might not be able to stabilize, but Russia wouldn't have. By April Ukraine was including Crimea in all peace talks, which caused Russia to walk.
All the peace talks were publicly reported and both sides were never close. It was all just theater.
I'd say that any testimony from "former senior US officials" should be met with skepticism, to speak with restraint.
After all, CNN is staffed with a variety of these ex-apparatchiks.
And a cease-fire or rapprochement is against the wishes of our military-industrial complex and the bureaucrats who want to maintain Russia's pariah status.
okay but Russia has been against peace, too. Let's not all pretend that the aggressor, Russia, was just disciplining an unruly child and then prepared to withdraw like the Chinese did in Vietnam.
Russia invaded 100% with the intent to conquer the country and install a pro-Russia puppet regime.
No comment until the smog of lies regarding the war dissipates.
Which may take a while.