The newspaper cited unnamed people familiar with the discussions as saying the request by US officials was not aimed at pushing Ukraine to the negotiating table, but a calculated effort to ensure Kyiv retains the support of other nations facing constituencies wary of the trigger. war for many years to come. He said the discussions highlighted the complexity of the Biden administration’s position on Ukraine, as US officials publicly vow to support Kyiv with massive amounts of aid “as long as it takes” while hoping for a resolution to the eight-month conflict it has taken. major impact on the global economy and sparked fears of nuclear war. The newspaper said US officials shared their Ukrainian counterparts’ assessment that Putin is not currently serious about negotiations, but acknowledged that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s ban on talks with him had raised concerns in parts of Europe, Africa and Latin America, where the war’s effects on food and fuel costs are becoming more pronounced. “Ukraine fatigue is a real thing for some of our partners,” the Post quoted an unnamed US official as saying. The White House National Security Council had no comment when asked if the report was accurate, while a State Department spokesman responded by saying: “We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Actions speak louder than words. If Russia is ready to negotiate, it should stop its bombs and missiles and withdraw its forces from Ukraine. “The Kremlin continues to escalate this war. The Kremlin has demonstrated its reluctance to engage seriously in negotiations ever since even before launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.” The spokesman also noted Zelensky’s statements on Friday, in which he said: “We are ready for peace, for a fair and just peace, the formula of which we have expressed many times.” In his nightly address to the Ukrainian people on Friday, Zelensky added: “The world knows our position. This is respect for the UN Charter, respect for our territorial integrity, respect for our people.” US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said during a visit to Kyiv on Friday that Washington’s support for Ukraine would remain “unwavering and unwavering” after next Tuesday’s midterm congressional elections. Report by David Brunnstrom. Edited by Daniel Wallis and Christian Schmollinger Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
