US State Department comments on Russia's possible participation in second Peace Summit
Washington will support Kyiv's initiative to involve Russia in the second Global Peace Summit, because only Ukraine should decide when to negotiate with the aggressor, said the spokesman of the United States State Department, Matthew Miller, at a briefing.
When asked whether US officials encouraged President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to invite Russia to the upcoming event, he replied that this issue was discussed between the Ukrainian and American sides.
"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," Miller said.
The spokesman of the State Department noted that it is Kyiv that decides when and in what form to start negotiations. And Washington as a partner will support Kyiv "if that’s the path that they choose to take".
"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, but it has never been clear that the Kremlin is ready for actual diplomacy," Miller added.
According to the spokesperson of the State Department, the US position regarding the negotiations has not changed.
"And that’s when – if and when Ukraine is ready to pursue either direct negotiations or direct diplomacy or some other form of diplomacy, we will support them in that decision," he stated.
On June 15-16, the Global Peace Summit initiated by Ukraine took place in Switzerland. Russia was not invited to it.
Later, the full text of the communiqué appeared: on nuclear and food security, release of prisoners. The text also promotes "engaging in dialogue between all parties" to achieve peace.
On June 17, the Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said that he wants to discuss the results of the Peace Summit with Russia, China and other countries that did not participate in the event.
On June 20, Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief-of-staff andriy Yermak announced that preparations for the second Peace Summit are ongoing, and it is already known about the enemy's plans to disrupt the event.
On July 11, Bloomberg wrote that Ukraine wants to convene a second peace summit with the participation of Russia before the presidential elections in the United States.