U.S. supports inviting Russia to next peace summit if Ukraine sees it fit, – Matthew Miller

Matthew Miller, U.S. State Department spokesperson. Photo: video screenshot/state.gov

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated that the U.S. will accept any Ukraine’s decision on negotiations as it is only appropriate that a victim makes such.

The spokesperson said this during a briefing on July 15.

“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. Ukraine is the victim here. It’s Ukraine that has seen their country invaded, has seen their civilians killed, has seen significant parts of their country occupied, and so it’s for Ukraine to decide when and how and in what shape to undertake diplomatic negotiations,” Matthew Miller explained.

At the same time, he emphasized that it is clear Russia is not interested in real diplomacy now just like it wasn’t when it invaded Ukraine in 2022.

“It has never been clear that the Kremlin is ready for actual diplomacy. That was clear at the beginning of this war when we were pursuing diplomacy and the Kremlin pulled the plug on diplomacy and invaded, and it remains – seems to remain true today,” Miller concluded.

During a press conference on July 15, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was ready to see Russian representatives at the second peace conference in the autumn.

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