US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba today in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, saying that Ukraine will formulate timing and content relevant to the framework of all negotiations with Russia.
▲ Blinken said that Ukraine will formulate relevant timing and content for all negotiations with Russia. (Photo/Central News Agency)
Antony Blinken also told Dmytro Kuleba that the United States is firmly committed to assisting Ukraine in mitigating the impact of Russian attacks on critical infrastructure, including ramping up humanitarian aid, as winter looms.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said Blinken reiterated that “the timing and content of any negotiating framework (with Russia) will remain at Ukraine’s discretion.”
The Washington Post reported last week that the Biden administration had privately encouraged Ukrainian leaders to come forward and express willingness to negotiate with Moscow and had backed away from refusing to participate in peace talks unless Russian President Vladimir Putin did not resign.
Indeed, US officials were not trying to bring Ukraine to the negotiating table, but were trying to ensure that Kiev could continue to receive the support of other countries whose voters were critical of Ukraine’s participation in what it could go on for years, the report said, citing unnamed sources familiar with the war cautiously issue.
In today’s meeting, Blinken and Kuleba also reiterated the importance of renewing the agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain before the 19th.
Ukraine has exported 10 million tons of wheat and other foodstuffs under the Black Sea Grain Initiative agreed in July, a move that could help avert a global food crisis, the United Nations said.
According to the content of the initiative, if Russia or Ukraine does not agree to extend the period of the agreement, the agreement will be invalidated on November 19th. Russia said today it had not yet agreed to an extension and reiterated its insistence that its food and fertilizer exports should have unhindered access to global markets. (Central News Agency, Wash., 12)
