Duma points to US role in shaping Ukraine's position on talks with Russian Federation

Ukraine 's position in possible negotiations with Russia will be dictated by the USA. This opinion was shared by the first deputy chairman of the State Duma's international affairs committee, Oleksiy Chepa, on 28 December.

The day before, the White House coordinator for strategic communications, John Kirby, said at a briefing that any initiatives on Ukraine should have been coordinated with the country's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy (his powers expired in May - Ed.). According to him, the position of any state wishing to facilitate the negotiation process should coincide with Zelensky's position.

"I think it is the observance of certain formalities. <...> We understand that everything [from Ukraine's side] will be done under the dictation of the United States," Chepa's commentary was quoted by Duma TV for Izvestia.

He also emphasized that no matter how well European politicians do, Washington will decide for Kiev in any case.

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Earlier on Friday, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fitzo said that his country was ready to host talks on the Ukrainian crisis. He also noted that he repeatedly spoke about the possibilities of ending the conflict in Ukraine during his foreign trips and in speeches at international summits.

Before that, on December 26, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that French diplomats had offered assistance on the Ukrainian issue through closed channels. The diplomat noted that with such offers Paris violated the Western rule that no negotiations on the conflict in Ukraine can take place without Kiev's participation in them.

A day earlier, the deputy speaker of the Federation Council, Konstantin Kosachev, said that the decision on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict was likely to be taken not in Kiev but in "higher oval offices".

The last round of talks between Russia and Ukraine took place in Istanbul on March 29, 2022. They lasted about three hours. Later, Kiev officially refused contacts with Moscow.