The White House stated that Ukraine should decide for itself when to sit down at the negotiating table

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, photo: сnn.com

The war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine must end in a manner that meets the aspirations of the Ukrainian people, and US President Joe Biden will help this happen until the end of his term.

This was stated by White House advisor John Kirby on December 16 when asked to comment on Donald Trump's approaches towards Ukraine, Ukrinform writes.

He noted that he would not enter into disputes with the position of the US President-elect, but stated that the current administration retains its main principles:

«Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine. We are not going to have conversations about them without their participation, we are not going to impose on them what their next steps might be,» said John Kirby.

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He also emphasized that Volodymyr Zelenskyy was elected by the Ukrainian people to represent them in the executive branch of government, so it is he who decides whether to enter into negotiations, and if so, when and on what positions.

«As we have made clear to him before, and I can do so today, when he makes this decision, and as long as President Biden is the commander in chief, he (Zelenskyy) will find supporters in this administration in the process of moving forward with negotiations,» the White House representative added.

In addition, he stated that the current US government is doing everything necessary to ensure that the Ukrainian army has everything it needs for further successes on the battlefield, pushing back the Russians, and complicating Vladimir Putin's plans to continue the war.

In this context, John Kirby recalled that despite some successes of the Russians in eastern Ukraine, Vladimir Putin still had to turn to the DPRK for help. In addition, he needs to buy weapons. But in addition to missiles, artillery shells and other weapons, he also has to buy a lot of body bags.

«And I think we shouldn't forget that either,» the US administration representative noted.

Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that representatives of the EU and NATO should participate in possible negotiations with Russia after Ukraine's positions are strengthened accordingly. According to him, when Ukraine has a list of points that will put it in a strong position, then it will be possible to sit down at the negotiating table.

Recall that in August of this year, Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko stated that Ukraine is not negotiating with terrorists, responding to media reports about allegedly disrupted negotiations with the Russian Federation through intermediaries to stop attacks on the energy sector.

Subsequently, the French publication Le Monde, citing its own sources, wrote that Ukraine and Russia were allegedly holding secret negotiations to conclude an agreement on the mutual cessation of attacks on energy infrastructure, but the operation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kursk region thwarted these plans.

Head of the Presidential Office Andrii Yermak stated that Ukraine is not conducting any negotiations with Russia, including in the field of energy security.

Meanwhile, Russia announced a «long-term pause» in negotiations with Ukraine after a series of defeats and an attack on the Kursk region.

It should also be noted that according to a social survey, more than half of Ukrainians are considering the possibility of holding negotiations with Russia to end the war.