US State Department comments on Ukraine's initiative to include Russia in second peace summit
Photo: Matthew Miller, US State Department spokesperson (Getty Images)
Washington will support Kyiv's decision to involve Russia in the second peace summit if the Ukrainian side initiates the participation of representatives of Russia in the upcoming event, according to US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.
The American official answered journalists' questions about whether US officials encouraged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his visit to the United States about a potential second peace summit with an invitation to Russia
"It’s something that we discussed with them. But as we have said before, any decisions around diplomatic negotiations are decisions that Ukraine has to make, not the United States, not any other country that’s not party to the conflict," the State Department official says.
He adds that Ukraine, which is the victim of large-scale Russian military aggression, decides when, how, and in what form to start diplomatic negotiations.
According to Miller, the US government, as a partner and provider of assistance to Ukraine, will support them if they choose this path.
"We have always made that clear. And I will note – and this kind of goes to how the Kremlin has responded, at least initially to those statements from Ukraine – we’ve always supported diplomacy when Ukraine is ready. Still, it has never been clear that the Kremlin is ready for actual diplomacy," the State Department spokesperson says.
He adds that the United States will continue to support Ukraine, and "if and when they believe further diplomatic steps are – with Russia are appropriate, we will support them in that decision."
"It is a decision for – it has always been our view that decisions with respect to diplomacy around this conflict need to be decisions made by Ukraine where Ukraine is in the driver’s seat. And so when they – if they want to invite Russia to the – to that summit, of course that is something we support," the official says.
Background
Earlier it was reported that Ukraine wants to hold the second peace summit in Saudi Arabia by the end of this year. The event will be a continuation of the first meeting, which took place in Switzerland on June 15-16 and brought together representatives from 92 countries.
Yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv plans to prepare a plan for the second peace summit that will include all 10 points of the peace formula. He also said that "representatives of Russia should be at the second summit."
