{
  "id": 16433134,
  "title": "An American lawyer helped open a backchannel between Biden’s White House and Putin. A Financial Times report details the exchanges, a later unofficial peace bid, and how it fell apart.",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/25/an-american-lawyer-helped-open-a-backchannel-between-bidens-white",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-25T04:42:58.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Meduza (English)",
    "slug": "meduza-english",
    "url": "https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/10/25/an-american-lawyer-helped-open-a-backchannel-between-biden-s-white-house-and-putin-a-financial-times-report-details-the-exchanges-a-later-unofficial-peace-bid-and-how-it-fell-apart"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In 2022 and early 2023, Richard Conn, an American lawyer with expertise in Russia, initiated back-channel talks between U.S. officials and the Kremlin. His concerns stemmed from the potential use of nuclear weapons by Putin, which could have catastrophic global consequences. Conn worked through Russian and American intermediaries to relay a conciliatory message from the Biden administration to Putin.\n\nOne of the intermediaries in these talks was Matthias Warnig, a former Stasi officer who had extensive ties to Vladimir Putin. Warnig was one of the few individuals with direct access to the Russian leader. On October 4, 2022, Conn and an American investor named Bob Foresman met with Warnig in Zurich. They received a message from the White House, which stated that the U.S. was not seeking regime change in Russia, nor did it pose an existential threat. In response, Warnig relayed Putin's message to Conn and Foresman, who quoted him as saying he was open to negotiations and seeking a long-term peaceful resolution to the conflict.\n\nThis success encouraged Conn and Foresman to take on a more active role in mediating between Russia and Ukraine. They enlisted the help of Michael Calvey to connect with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky through Ukrainian producer Alexander Rodnyansky. The proposed peace terms included Russia withdrawing its troops from most of the regions it had annexed, with the border following Crimea and parts of Donbas occupied before 2022. In return, Ukraine would recognize Russian control over Crimea and grant Russia free passage along the \"land bridge\" to the peninsula.",
  "summary": "The Financial Times has published details of back-channel talks between U.S. leaders and Vladimir Putin in 2022 and early 2023. The effort began with Richard Conn, an American lawyer who had worked in Russia for many years and, after the war began, grew concerned that Putin might use nuclear weapons, with unpredictable consequences. In the fall of 2022, Conn worked through several Russian and…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Al Jazeera",
        "title": "Iran blames US for deal failure, urges new try amid fear of new attacks",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/24/iran-blames-us-for-deal-failure-urges-new-try-amid-fear-of-new-attacks",
        "published": "2026-10-24T21:30:11.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Live Mint",
        "title": "US midterm elections: Obama slams Trump over Iran war, White House renovation, 'Saddam opened a Cheesecake Factory'",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/25/us-midterm-elections-obama-slams-trump-over-iran-war-white-house",
        "published": "2026-10-25T01:56:56.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}