Talks Between Lavrov and Former American Officials???

Maria Zakharova/Russian Foreign Ministry | For the second day in a row, Russian telegram channels and foreign media have been spreading a fake story about some alleged talks between Lavrov and former American officials in the United States in April of this year, at the instigation of the Americans. Despite our denial, already John Kirby (i.e. the White House itself), the coordinator of strategic communications for the US National Security Council, confirms to CBS that "a group of former US officials tried to establish an unofficial channel of communication with Moscow."

● Once again: NO "SECRET TALKS" WITH AMERICAN "OFFICIALS" RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER HAD NO "SECRET TALKS" IN APRIL. And no unclassified ones either. This is a fake, a lie, a manipulation.
● As we have understood from media reports (and now John Kirby) the US side is trying to pass off as a "meeting" one of the usual discussions with political analysts and public figures that the head of the Russian delegation regularly holds "on the margins" of his international visits and United Nations events. Perhaps it is about the meeting with the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) on April 24, which is currently chaired by Richard Haas. Neither he nor Charles Kupchan or Thomas Graham mentioned in the American press reports hold government posts in the USA. The discussion is about contemporary international relations and the global agenda. NO "PEACE PLAN FOR UKRAINE" WAS EVER DISCUSSED.
● And now for the most interesting part. It is the American experts and political scientists who usually ask tearfully not to announce or report the facts of the discussion in the public information space. They are justifiably concerned about the highly toxic atmosphere in the U.S. media and the reaction of the U.S. authorities. And yes, they openly fear persecution by the obscurantist American officialdom. But the current blasts about "secret talks with officials" and "discussions about a peace plan" are an attempt by the Biden administration to do wishful thinking in the run-up to the election.
● And again: Reports of secret talks between the head of the Russian delegation in New York at the UN Security Council meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and the American side in Ukraine are not true. This is a fake. (DeepL.com)