Biden's team reacts to Trump's approach on possible Ukraine-Russia negotiations
John Kirby (photo: Getty Images)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should decide for himself when and under what conditions to sit down for negotiations. Joe Biden will support this decision until the end of his presidential term, states the Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the US National Security Council, John Kirby.
The statement was made in response to a request to comment on the approach of newly elected US President Donald Trump regarding Ukraine, who insists on negotiations to end the war. Kirby noted that he would not engage in a debate over the position of the new US leader, but emphasized that the current administration maintains its core principles.
"Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine. We are not going to have conversations about them without their participation, we will not impose on them what their next steps should be," said Kirby.
He added that the Ukrainian people elected Volodymyr Zelenskyy as president, so it is up to him to decide whether to engage in negotiations, and if so, when and on what terms.
Kirby stated that, as they had made clear to Zelenskyy earlier and as he could reiterate that day, when Zelenskyy made that decision, he would find supporters in the Biden administration in the process of moving toward negotiations, as long as President Biden remained Commander-in-Chief.
The US official also noted that the current US government is doing everything necessary to ensure that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have all they need to continue succeeding on the battlefield. This includes pushing back Russian forces and complicating Russian President Vladimir Putin's plans to continue the war.
In this context, he highlighted that despite certain successes by the Russian army in eastern Ukraine, Putin has had to seek help from North Korea. Moreover, he needs to purchase weapons. In addition to rockets, artillery shells, and other weaponry, the Russian President is also forced to buy many body bags for fallen Russian soldiers.
He concluded by saying that he believed this should not be forgotten either.
It should be noted that yesterday, newly elected US President Donald Trump, during his press conference, stated that he plans to negotiate with both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin. He emphasized that to end the war, an agreement must be reached.
"It's got to stop. And we are trying to end this. We're gonna see. We'll be talking to President Putin and we'll be talking to the representatives, Zelenskyy, from Ukraine. We've got to stop this. It’s carnage," Trump added.
