U.S. position regarding support for President Zelensky and Ukraine remains the same - White House

13.11.2022 23:27

Ukrinform

The U.S. approach remains the same: Washington will continue to support Ukraine and strengthen its positions in order to put an end to Russian aggression on the terms of the Ukrainian side during negotiations, the time for which will be determined by Ukraine itself.

According to Ukrinform, Jake Sullivan, national security adviser to the U.S. president, told reporters aboard the presidential plane.

“The first is: He [President Biden] said in the press conference it’s up to Ukraine to decide when and how they want to negotiate. Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine. We’re not going to pressure them; we’re not going to dictate to them,” he said.

The second, according to Sullivan, is that United States is committed to the principle of a just peace based on the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, which is enshrined in the UN Charter. “The G7 leaders spoke to these principles of a just peace, including territorial integrity. President Zelenskyy has spoken to these,” Sullivan said.

The third point, Sullivan continued, is that Russia is doubling down on its “annexation,” quote, unquote — annexation of Ukrainian territory. “That’s not exactly a sign of seriousness about negotiating,” the national security adviser stressed.

And the fourth is that “the U.S. approach remains the same today as it was six months ago”, Sullivan noted. He stressed that the United States will do everything possible, including “to put Ukraine in the best possible position on the battlefield so that when they make their determination to proceed”, as well as “the best possible position at the negotiating table.”

Sullivan also emphasized that “Ukraine is the party of peace in this conflict, and Russia is the party of war.”

“So this whole notion, I think, in the Western press of ‘When is Ukraine going to negotiate?’ misses the underlying fundamentals, which is that Russia continues, even as recently as the last 24 hours, to make these outlandish claims about annexed Russian territory — quote, unquote, ‘Russian territory’ — including territory they just left,” he said.

Sullivan summarized: “Our position remains the same as it has been, and fundamentally is in close consultation and support of President Zelenskyy and Ukraine. And that is shared across the U.S. government.”

As reported, U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday arrived in Bali for G20 summit. It is expected that the discussion of Russian aggression against Ukraine will become one of the main topics of the leaders' meeting.