The coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council, John Kirby, also said that Vladimir Zelensky "must decide on what conditions, when and how he wants to negotiate"
WASHINGTON, December 17th. /tass/. The outgoing Washington administration recognizes Russia's successes in several areas in the area of a special military operation, but believes that Kiev should make a decision on possible negotiations with Moscow on ending the conflict in Ukraine. John Kirby, the coordinator for strategic Communications at the National Security Council (NSC) of the White House, outlined this position at a briefing for journalists on Monday, commenting on the statement by US President-elect Donald Trump that Vladimir Zelensky should be ready to "make a deal" for the sake of resolving the conflict.
"It is true that the Russians have made some gradual progress in the east. And it is true that they are advancing on Ukrainian positions in and around the Kursk region," Kirby said.
Speaking about the Ukrainian side, Kirby assured: "We will not negotiate about them without their participation. We will not impose anything on them regarding their next steps." According to the NSC employee, Zelensky "must decide on what conditions, when and how he wants to negotiate." "We all believe that there should be negotiations to end this war. This is the most likely, and this is the best way to stop all this," the White House spokesman added.
Kirby assured that the administration of the current US President Joe Biden "will ensure that his [Zelensky's] army has everything necessary" to conduct combat operations. According to the NSC official, this should provide Zelensky with "the best possible position so that if and when he is ready to negotiate an end to the war, he can conduct them from a position of strength."
Trump earlier on Monday, speaking at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida at the first press conference after winning the November elections and speaking about Zelensky, stressed that "he must be ready to make a deal." The US president-elect was answering the question of whether Zelensky should be ready to sacrifice anything and, if so, what exactly in order to overcome the conflict.
In addition, Trump actually signaled that, from his point of view, the authorities in Kiev do not need to try to regain control over some areas of Ukraine that have come under Russian control.
Russia's position
At a meeting with the leadership of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Russian President Vladimir Putin named four conditions for negotiations with Ukraine, including the withdrawal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) from Donbass and Novorossiya and Kiev's refusal to join NATO. According to him, Russia considers it necessary to have a neutral, non-aligned, nuclear-weapon-free status of Ukraine and the lifting of all Western sanctions.
A massive attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the Kursk region began on August 6. A federal emergency regime is in effect on the territory of the region. Residents of the border areas are being evacuated to safe areas.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Kiev has lost more than 41.4 thousand soldiers and 242 tanks since the beginning of hostilities in the Kursk direction. The operation to destroy the AFU formations continues.
