Former senior Pentagon adviser Dan Caldwell said that the West must acknowledge the inevitability of making certain concessions to Russia in order to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.

In an interview with The New York Times, he noted that Western countries will have to engage with Moscow with the understanding that compromise is unavoidable. He added that the alternative would be continued fighting and a further deterioration of Ukraine’s situation. Caldwell also stressed that much of the American foreign policy establishment misjudges the actual leverage the United States has in this conflict.

The former adviser pointed out that U.S. military assistance to Kyiv and sanctions against Russia have failed to shift Moscow’s position.

Earlier, the U.S. administration announced that it was working on its own plan for a Ukrainian settlement but declined to disclose any details, saying preparations were still underway. The Kremlin, for its part, stated that Russia remains open to negotiations and continues to adhere to the understandings reached in Anchorage.