US no longer mediator? Ukraine gets clear message from State Department
Photo: Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Ukraine urgently contacted US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce regarding her statement on changing the approach to negotiations with Russia and Ukraine, stated Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi.
Background
Earlier, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce announced that the United States would no longer act as a mediator in negotiations with Russia and Ukraine.
According to her, both sides must reach an agreement on their own.
"We certainly are still committed to it and will help and do what we can. But we are not going to fly around the world at the drop of a hat to mediate meetings, that it is now between the two parties," she said.
Foreign Ministry reaction
According to Tykhyi, he urgently contacted US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce.
During their conversation, it was confirmed that her comment on the US role as a mediator was made in the context of a similar statement she gave earlier this week: "If there is no progress, we will step back as mediators in this process".
"This was not a new position, but a reiteration of what the US Secretary of State had already stated earlier," Tykhyi said.
US threats
Recently, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the United States may withdraw from the peace process if no prospects for a swift agreement between Ukraine and Russia emerge in the near future.
US President Donald Trump also confirmed this possibility, noting that the US may stop participating in the negotiations if either side obstructs the path to peace.
He also emphasized that the coming days would be critically important for talks aimed at resolving the war in Ukraine, adding that the US is "putting a lot of pressure on Russia" to reach a peace agreement.
Meanwhile, in Europe, according to the Financial Times, there are growing concerns that Trump may soon abandon the peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow, using the lack of substantial progress as justification.
