A group of left-wing Democrats in the US Congress has withdrawn a letter that called for a negotiated settlement to the war in Ukraine.
The Progressive Caucus said the message was being misconstrued as aligned with a growing reluctance in the Republican party to keep sending aid to Kyiv.
Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal said it was drafted “months ago” and that staff released it without it being “vetted”.
The memo sparked intra-party backlash before US midterm elections next month.
The letter to the White House was made public on Monday and was signed in June by 30 of President Joe Biden’s fellow Democrats in the House of Representatives.
Its call for the US to negotiate directly with Russia was seen as undermining the Biden administration, which has repeatedly said Moscow is not interested in diplomacy.
White House officials said in response that diplomacy is only possible when all sides are prepared to negotiate, and that is not currently the case.
