"Russia Claims Over 20% of Ukraine Territory and Ceasefire"... US Fully Denies

Swiss Media Report... Both the US and Russia Deny

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Reports emerged that U.S. President Joe Biden proposed ending the war by ceding more than 20% of Ukraine's territory to Russia, but both the U.S. and Russia have dismissed the claim as "completely false."

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

According to major foreign media on the 2nd (local time), the Swiss German-language outlet Neue Z?rcher Zeitung (NZZ) reported, citing senior German political officials, that William Burns, Director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), secretly visited Russia last month to propose a peace settlement.

Previously, The Washington Post (WP) reported that Director Burns visited Ukraine last month and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and it is now revealed that he also visited Russia around the same time. This is the first time Burns' visit to Russia has been disclosed.

NZZ stated that the peace proposal Burns presented to both Russia and Ukraine included a plan to cede about 20% of Ukraine's entire territory to Russia. This area is roughly equivalent to the entire eastern Donbas region, which President Putin had coveted.

German political officials analyzed that President Biden proposed this peace plan to avoid a prolonged war.

However, NZZ reported that both Ukraine and Russia rejected the proposal. Ukraine refused, stating that its territory cannot be divided, while Russia declined, believing it could win the war in the long term.

Following the rejection by both sides, NZZ reported that the Biden administration promised to support Abrams tanks and is preparing for a prolonged conflict.

Immediately after the report, the White House and CIA fully denied it. Sean Daybert, Deputy Spokesperson for the White House National Security Council (NSC), told Newsweek, "(The NZZ report) is inaccurate," adding that the CIA shares the same position. Newsweek also reported that a CIA official called it "completely false."

The Kremlin also dismissed the report as untrue. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said during a phone briefing with reporters that day, "The entire report is a prank."