It is up to Ukraine to decide when and how to come to the negotiation table with Russia – Victoria Nuland

This is up to Ukraine and its democratically elected leadership to decide when and on what terms to come to the negotiations table with Russia, Victoria Nuland, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, U.S. Department of State has said at the 17th Yalta European Strategy (YES) Annual Meeting "Ukraine: Defending All Our Freedom", organised by YES in partnership with the Victor Pinchuk Foundation.

“Any war ends up in diplomatic negotiations, but when it is time to come to this negotiating table and what the end of the war look like - it is up to the Ukraine society and the country’s diplomatically elected leadership to decide. The US will always provide the most decisive support to Ukraine’s position,” Nuland said.

Nuland also said that for the time being Vladimir Putin did not demonstrate readiness for de-escalation.

“So far tens of thousands of Russian soldiers occupy Ukraine’s large territories. They allow brutal actions against civilians. Putin did not make any sign of de-escalation,” Nuland said.