White House States, U.S. Won’t Push Ukraine To Negotiate

July 5, 2022 (EIRNS)—Even as White House officials privately acknowledge that the war is not going well for Ukraine, the U.S. will not push Ukraine to negotiate with Russia, said a top communications official.

“[Zelenskyy] gets to determine how victory is decided and when and on what terms. And [what] we’re going to do is continue to make sure that he can succeed on the battlefield so that he can succeed at the table. But even President Zelenskyy will tell you that the time is not now for those discussions,” John Kirby said in an interview with Fox News.

(Kirby, who formerly served as the spokesman for the Pentagon, now serves as communications coordinator for the National Security Council.)

Early during the conflict, the Ukrainian side had participated in negotiations. But those were cut off following Western pressure. For example, When Boris Johnson visited Kiev on April 1, he told Zelensky that he should not negotiate with Putin, according to reports in the Ukrainska Pravda.

The newspaper reported that Johnson conveyed to Zelensky the position it reported as being that of the “collective West”—that “even if Ukraine is ready to sign some agreements on guarantees with Putin,” NATO was not ready.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken last spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on February 15.