There’s been “some progress” in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine but “both sides need to be willing to come to the table and give something up” to end the war, U.S. Ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Matthew Whitaker said to Newsmax on Wednesday.
“The previous two rounds of talks, while they didn’t agree to a ceasefire, they have agreed to exchanging prisoners, exchanging bodies of fallen soldiers. And so, there’s been some progress,” Whitaker told Newsline ahead of a scheduled meeting Wednesday between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Istanbul to discuss ending the ongoing war.
“There’s a framework to have these discussions. This is the third round, I’m hoping, and I know that President [Donald] Trump really wants a ceasefire, and then negotiations that can get to a lasting peace.
“But, you know, both sides need to be willing to come to the table and give something up. This is not going to be advantageous to either side, but at the same time, no battlefield solution is available to either side. Russia is not going to win this war in the next decade if they kept fighting, and Ukraine obviously is going to defend themselves. And with this deal we announced last week with our NATO allies and partners buying American weapons that can be used by Ukraine to defend themselves, especially the air defense systems, that is going to allow them to sustain, if they have to, for years to come. But obviously, I think President Trump wants peace. He is a peacemaker, and he’s brought peace in so many other places. I think the expectation is that the parties can be rational and finally come to an agreement,” he added.
Trump on Monday said he would send weapons to Ukraine via NATO while threatening Russia with more tariffs if a deal to end the war is not reached in 50 days.
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