US House speaker says Washington is close to trilateral talks on Ukraine
US House Speaker Mike Johnson has said Washington is planning trilateral talks aimed at ending Russia's war against Ukraine.
Source: an interview with Johnson cited by Bloomberg
Details: Johnson said he had spoken to US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio over the weekend and they had briefed him on plans for the negotiations.
Quote: "They're working to bring an end [to Russia's war against Ukraine]."
Details: Johnson added that the parties are "on the verge" of trilateral negotiations.
He noted that the situation has many moving parts and that the US administration is doing everything it can to end the conflict.
Johnson also stressed that Russian leader Vladimir Putin cannot be trusted and that the US needs to act accordingly.
Background:
- In early October, Putin said he was ready to resume peace talks as soon as possible, but on terms acceptable to Russia. He spoke about the occupation of the whole of Donbas, Ukraine's neutral status, security guarantees for Russia and "conditions for lasting peace". Putin also returned to his familiar themes of the Russian language and the church in his answers.
- On 24 October, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was ready for a peace deal that would freeze the war along the current line of contact. However, he said Ukraine would not agree to recognise that "the territory which is temporarily occupied will be Russian territory".
Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon to help us keep reporting!