The former officials include Richard Haass, a former director of policy planning at the State Department and outgoing president of the Council on Foreign Relations; Europe expert Charles Kupchan, a former special assistant to President Barack Obama; Mary Beth Long, a former U.S. assistant defense secretary; and Thomas Graham, a former Russia director on the National Security Council.
Kupchan and Graham are fellows at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Lavrov met with members of the group for several hours in April in New York, NBC said, citing four former U.S. officials and two current officials.
The Biden administration was aware of the talks but did not direct them, NBC reported. The former officials who spoke with Lavrov briefed the National Security Council afterward.
Russian government spokeswoman Maria Zakharova denied the NBC's report, state newswire RIA Novosti said, describing it as "misinformation."
In addition to Lavrov, the talks have included Russian academics, foreign policy experts, and other seen as close to President Vladimir Putin or other Kremlin decision-makers, the sources told NBC.
These participants weren't named to protect their safety.
A member of the American group made at least one trip to Russia, the report said.
A spokesman for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy declined to comment on the report, but told NBC that only Ukraine would set the terms for a peace deal.
“Our position is unchanged — the fate of Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine. Many times the president and all our official speakers spoke about it. Not anonymously, but quite specifically and publicly,” the spokesman said.
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