The United States has asked Ukraine to remain ready to negotiate with Russia at a time when the war appears to be intensifying locally. According to The Washington Post on Sunday, the Biden administration has advised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky not to refuse a hypothetical peace deal with Vladimir Putin.
The paper quoted unnamed sources as saying the US officials’ request is not intended to push Ukraine to the negotiating table immediately, but is a calculated effort to ensure Kiev retains support from other countries.at a time when, according to sources the paper learned, Zelensky’s position has implications for countries in Europe, Africa and Latin America, where the effects of the global food and energy crisis are increasingly outweighing.
“Ukraine’s fatigue is a real feeling for some of our allies,” said an unnamed US official.
Zelenskiy signed a decree last October 4 that officially declares all Ukrainian negotiations with Putin impossible, but leaves the door open for talks with Russia under a different leadership.
However, in a recent interview with the Spanish newspaper El País, the Ukrainian president acknowledged that if Putin leaves the Crimean peninsula, which Russia has occupied since 2014, and the other Ukrainian regions now occupied by Russian soldiers, he would be willing to sit together with the Russian president.
“We are ready for peace, a just peace,” Zelensky said in a speech last Friday., but clarify that this should be achieved within the framework of the UN and the territorial integrity of their country. The Ukrainian leader also demanded that those responsible for the invasion be punished and that Russia compensate Ukraine for all damage caused. Just before uttering those words, Zelensky received Jake Sullivan, the White House’s national security adviser.
The White House National Security Council has not responded to information published Sunday, according to Reuters. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented: “We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: actions speak louder than words. If Russia is willing to negotiate, it must stop its bombs and missiles and withdraw its troops from Ukraine.”
Source: DN
