10:55 25.03.2022

Peace deal must be preceded by ceasefire in Ukraine – U.S. Under Secretary of State

2 min read
Peace deal must be preceded by ceasefire in Ukraine – U.S. Under Secretary of State

A peace agreement should be preceded by a ceasefire in Ukraine, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland has said.

Nuland asked during an online discussion at the Kyiv Security Forum on Thursday, whether someone has ever heard of a peace agreement before a ceasefire. First there must be a ceasefire, and then there must be a clear plan for how the Russian troops will withdraw, how the international community will support you in ensuring this, how we will rebuild Ukraine and how you will restore security you need to make sure this never happens again, she said.

She stressed that the United States salutes the Ukrainian government, diplomats and leaders for having sat down at the diplomatic negotiating table almost immediately after the conflict began and for staying at the table, no matter how difficult it is.

But the United States agrees with President Zelensky that diplomacy and negotiations do not mean capitulation. They have seen this movie from Moscow too many times before, that the war is ending and they are not leaving, that the war is ending and they are holding on to what they have, waiting a few years and coming back for more. It's not sustainable for you and it's not sustainable for the free world, Nuland said.

According to her, it is important even while remaining at the negotiating table, to demand that everything proceeds properly.

She said that right now we are seeing Moscow doing "Kabuki diplomacy" but not committing to fundamentally end this war, speak up and resolve it. We will be with you, we will decide how to ensure that this never happens again. But we must start by stopping this war, Nuland said.

AD
AD
AD
AD
AD