United States not pushing Ukraine to negotiate with Russia - White House

The United States in no way pushes Kyiv to negotiate with Moscow and does not conduct talks "about Ukraine without Ukraine."

This was stated by White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby during a phone briefing, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Nobody from the United States is pushing, prodding or nudging him [President Zelensky] to the table,” Kirby said.

He stressed that the United States adheres to the position that Ukraine will determine when it is ready for diplomatic negotiations and “what those negotiations look like”.

The White House representative also confirmed that the U.S. side continues to follow the "nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine" principle.

As Ukrinform reported, last week General Mark Milley, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, suggested that Ukraine could start peace talks with the Russian Federation right now, amid the significant weakening of Russian forces on the battlefield.

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