What the American President has now said about possible negotiations with Putin is noteworthy in two respects.
For one thing, Biden has never been more open to negotiations over Ukraine.
The fact that he said, restrictively, that Putin must have an interest in ending the war is not too high a hurdle, because one rarely knows the true intentions of a conversation partner anyway.
On the other hand, it is striking that in this case he only held out the prospect of coordination with the allies in NATO.
He did not mention the Ukrainian government.
He also did not repeat the previous formula that nothing would be decided about Ukraine without Ukraine.
No change of course can be read from these statements.
During his appearance with French President Macron in Washington, Biden himself reiterated his support for Ukraine and his willingness to work with the allies to counter Russia.
But it is not the first signal in recent times that the White House does not want to block the option of a negotiated solution.
Some time ago, Washington demanded that Kyiv be more open to talks;
and General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, publicly called for a diplomatic solution.
No direct confrontation with Russia
From the outset, the American view of the war was shaped by two very different factors.
On the one hand, Biden does not want to grant geopolitical gains in Europe to a country that still counts America among its main rivals.
On the other hand, he wants to avoid a direct military confrontation with Russia.
Many politicians, especially in Germany, have underestimated the concern that prevails in Washington about a nuclear conflict, if not the chancellor.
Putin, who has always been a tactician, quickly recognized the opportunity he might have and on Friday laid out his condition for talks: recognition of Russia's annexations in Ukraine.
Biden is unlikely to commit to such a trade, especially at this point.
The West has condemned the land grab too clearly.
In addition, there is a real possibility that Ukraine can reconquer other areas occupied by Russia.
But the mere fact that Biden makes a bilateral offer to talk shifts the conflict in Russia's favour.
Even before the invasion, Putin wanted to treat the matter as a great power deal between America and Russia, and downgraded Ukraine to an object whose interests are irrelevant.
Despite their remarkable unity, Europeans continue to have less influence in this game than they could wish for on their continent.
At the press conference, it was Macron who stuck to the old Western stance that it was legitimate for Ukraine to set conditions for negotiations and that she must decide when the time came for talks.
Macron assured him that he would continue to talk to Putin himself, just like the German Chancellor who called the Russian President on Friday.
The fact that Putin is overthrown, as Biden has publicly demanded before and what many are hoping for from Western sanctions, is obviously no longer a Western war goal.