US political affairs official says Putin "not ready" for peace talks

WORLD  04 December 2022 - 12:02

Russia's behaviour shows that the Kremlin is now completely unprepared for peace talks.

The statement came from US Deputy Secretary of State, Victoria Nuland, at a meeting with Ukrainian journalists on November 3, as RBC-Ukraine reported.

“President Biden said that if Putin was serious, he would obviously talk to him. And then the Kremlin immediately made it clear how frivolous they were, saying that the precondition would be that we all recognize the annexation of territories, when 143 countries on this planet said 'no' to Putin’s annexation”, Nuland said.

She said Diplomacy is obviously everyone's ultimate goal, but in presence of a partner who also strives for it.

"And it's very clear, whether it's the energy attacks, whether it's the rhetoric out of the Kremlin and the general attitude, that Putin is not sincere or ready for that. Putin has taken this war to a new level of barbarism, taking it into every single Ukrainian home as he tries to turn off the lights and the water and achieve what he couldn't on the battlefield," US state undersecretary said according to Reuters.

She added that while there may have been some confusion in the world at the beginning of the war, Russia's behaviour day after day, week after week has convinced more and more people and countries around the world of what is really going on here.

Nuland also said that during her two recent visits to Africa, she saw that African countries are already more aware that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is the cause of the food crisis.

The Russian ministry of foreign affairs responded quickly to the American undersecretary's remarks, responding by saying "It is not for Nuland to teach the world - only the United States and NATO combined destroyed more energy networks than the United States destroyed by itself," official spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on her Telegram channel, referring to the 1999 attacks on Serbia.

Caliber.Az