The US will support Zelenskyy if he decides to negotiate with Russia: State Department
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has to make his own decision on the possible start of negotiations with Russia, but the United States is ready to support him in this. At the same time, Russia has not yet offered conditions that would suit Zelenskyy.
This position was voiced by US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller during a briefing.
Answering a question about the Joe Biden administration’s possible support for the negotiations, especially against the backdrop of President-elect Donald Trump’s statements about ending the war in Ukraine in 24 hours, Miller recalled the position of the Biden administration. He stressed that the decision to start negotiations remains solely within the competence of the President of Ukraine, and the United States or any other state should not force him to do so.
‘If President Zelenskyy decides that he wants to start negotiations, of course, we will support this. […] And we will support him in any process to try to ensure a just and lasting peace, but that is ultimately his decision, not ours,’ Miller stressed.
In his opinion, Russian leader Vladimir Putin continues to demonstrate an unwillingness to stop his aggressive actions on Ukrainian territories, offering a negotiating option where Russia would get everything and Ukraine would get nothing. Therefore, Zelenskyy has no interest in such negotiations under these circumstances.
