Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine – U.S. State Dept on Kuleba, Wang Yi’s talks

The U.S. position on diplomatic negotiations on settling the Russia-Ukraine war remains unwavering: nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine at the table.

That’s according to the State Department’s spokesman Matt Miller, who answered a journalist’s request to comment on the recent meeting between Ukraine and China’s top diplomats, Dmytro Kuleba and Wang Yi, Ukrinform’s own correspondent reports.

“I saw the statement that the Chinese Foreign Ministry put out about those talks with Foreign Ministry Kuleba. And I also saw the statement that the Ukrainian foreign ministry put out about it, which said that nothing has changed in their position,” Miller said.

He noted that Ukraine has always been ready for negotiations to reach a just and lasting peace. At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin, to date, has shown no change to his warnings and shown no real willingness for negotiation, the spokesman said.

“So, our take on this continues to be what it has been for some time, which is that when it comes to diplomacy, nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine,” the State Department’s spokesman emphasized.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on July 22 started his visit to China on the invitation from the Chinese side. The visit will last through July 25. On Tuesday, Kuleba discussed with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, bilateral relations, the international agenda, and paths toward peace in Ukraine.