Russia may never be prepared to reach an agreement to end the conflict in Ukraine, which Moscow’s forces started over four years ago, according to a statement made by Washington’s delegate to NATO on Friday.
The “Ukrainians, I think, are willing to make a deal right now that’s reasonable, that under the circumstances would be fair,” Ambassador Matthew Whitaker said on a panel at the Munich Security Conference.
“But I just am not convinced that ultimately the Russians are ready to make a deal, or ever will be able to make a deal,” he added.
The message was the opposite of that delivered by US President Donald Trump earlier in the day, who said Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky is “going to have to get moving” as “Russia wants to make a deal.”
Trump is pushing to end the conflict, unleashed when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, but US-mediated talks have not yielded any signs of a breakthrough so far.
Moscow has stuck to its demands for sweeping territorial and political concessions from Ukraine — rejected by Kyiv as tantamount to capitulation — and is pushing for Ukrainian forces to pull out of the eastern Donetsk region.
Ukraine has rejected a unilateral pull-back and wants robust Western security guarantees to deter Russia from re-launching its offensive following any ceasefire.
