From a Wall Street Journal column by Zalmay Khalilzad headlined “The West Needs to Call Russia’s Bluff on Peace in Ukraine”:

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Africa last week carrying the message that Moscow would like a political settlement to the war in Ukraine, but Kyiv is thwarting the initiative at the behest of the U.S. Russian diplomats echo the message, telling U.S. media and policy makers that Washington is eschewing diplomatic engagement and blocking pursuit of a peaceful resolution.