Joe Biden’s administration did not sanction or support secret meetings that former top US national security officials held with the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, and other Russians on potential talks to end the Ukraine war, the White House and state department have said. “The Biden administration did not sanction those discussions,” a state department spokesperson said on Thursday. “And as we’ve said repeatedly, nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.” The spokesperson was referring to an administration policy of not discussing possible negotiations on ending the war without involving Ukrainian officials. He said the administration would continue providing weaponry to Kyiv...