The United States is studying the issue of creating a tribunal on the Ukrainian conflict US President Joe Biden is not yet ready to approve the sending of the Patriot air defense system to Ukraine.
At the same time, White House spokesman John Kirby said that the United States is still "working on" the idea of convening a tribunal in connection with the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Until the end of 2023, military operations are unlikely to end, the US authorities believe. "Newspaper.Ru" has studied the latest statements of the American leadership about Ukraine.
Biden is waiting for clarification
US President Joe Biden has not yet made a decision on sending Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukraine. As reported by The Washington Post with reference to a senior official of the US administration,
"The weapons will come from American warehouses, but not from any operating unit," the WP source said.
CNN previously reported, citing its own sources, that the US authorities are finishing coordinating plans to send Patriot complexes to Kiev. At the same time, Pentagon Press Secretary Patrick Ryder said on December 13 that he could not yet report anything about the supply of these sams to Ukraine.
Ukraine has repeatedly asked to transfer the MIM-104 Patriot to it, but until the very last moment this issue was shelved. Western experts called the reasons very different - and the fear that with the possible seizure of the system by Russian troops, critical technologies may be at Moscow's disposal, and fears about the discrediting of the state identification system, and the risks associated with the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine. Finally, it was believed that the development of the Patriot air defense system by Ukrainian calculations would require considerable time.
The Tribunal has not yet been created
The US leadership continues to study the proposal to convene a tribunal to investigate the special military operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, the coordinator for strategic communications of the National Security Council of the White House John Kirby said at a briefing.
"As for the tribunal, we are still studying this proposal and working on this issue. We want to make sure that this [review] process continues before we say something definite about this," he said.
"Now a number of international investigations are being conducted, which we support, help with documents and analysis. And we are going to continue to do this," the official stressed.
The Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, previously noted that only the UN Security Council can establish an international tribunal.
They won't be finished by the New Year
The White House does not see the possibility of ending the military confrontation in Ukraine by the end of 2022, John Kirby added.
"I think, given what we see in the sky and on the ground in Ukraine, it is difficult to come to the conclusion that this will be completed by the end of the year," the representative of the US National Security Council said. He also pointed to the fierce fighting that unfolded in the Donbass.
Finally, he said that the decision on possible negotiations with Russia should be made by Ukraine, "not the United States."
Washington will continue to help
Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried said at a hearing in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives that the administration of President Biden soon intends to announce the allocation of another package of military assistance to Kiev.
The Assistant Secretary of State did not specify the exact timing and scope of the new aid package.
Peter Nikolaev
