Western intermediaries held secret talks with Putin to prevent nuclear escalation

A Financial Times investigation has revealed that three Western individuals engaged in secret, unofficial communications with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the early months of the war in Ukraine to mitigate the risk of nuclear escalation.

The efforts involved American lawyer Richard Conn, banker Bob Forsman, and Matthias Warnig, a former East German intelligence official with ties to Putin. The initiative began in March 2022 after a Russian businessman warned Conn that Moscow viewed the conflict as an existential threat and that Putin might resort to tactical nuclear weapons to secure victory, potentially triggering a third world war.

In October 2022, Conn and Forsman met Warnig in Zurich to convey a message that Washington was not seeking regime change or the destruction of Russia. In response, Putin reportedly indicated he saw no choice but to continue military operations but remained open to negotiations for a long-term peace.

By early 2023, an informal settlement proposal was drafted. The terms included a Russian withdrawal from most recently occupied territories in exchange for Ukraine accepting Russian control over Crimea and a land bridge, while also excluding Ukraine from NATO membership with provided security guarantees. Although Putin reviewed the draft and agreed to certain points, the efforts collapsed by spring 2023 due to disagreements over territorial concessions and the lack of formal U.S. authorization.