US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. Photo: AP
The United States of America is ready to support the initiative of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to negotiate with Russia if he decides to start them. This was stated by US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
Against the backdrop of US President-elect Donald Trump’s statements about the possibility of ending the Russian-Ukrainian war within the first 24 hours of his term in office, journalists asked Miller whether America would facilitate negotiations between Ukraine and Russia if both sides expressed a desire to start them.
“If President Zelensky decides that he wants to start negotiations, of course we will support that decision,” Miller said.
The spokesman noted that the United States supports the policy that the decision to negotiate should be made exclusively by the Ukrainian leadership. “This is not something that we or any other country should push them to do,” he stressed.
At the same time, Miller stressed that the United States would support any efforts to ensure a just and lasting peace, but that this issue should remain with President Zelenskyy.
“As always, and you can look at Putin’s statements, we see no indication that Russia is ready to abandon its ambitions to seize Ukrainian territory,” the State Department spokesman added.
Miller also expressed his belief that the Kremlin would agree to negotiations that would allow it to achieve its goals, while Ukraine would not get anything it is entitled to under international law. “But these are not the kind of negotiations that President Zelenskyy is interested in, and should not be interested in,” he concluded.
