US Dismisses Russia's Meeting Proposal as "Hypocritical Diplomacy Even Before Invasion"

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] "Diplomacy with a gun pointed is not true diplomacy."

On the 25th (local time), the United States dismissed Russia's proposal for talks to negotiate with Ukraine, saying, "They have been pretending to engage in hypocritical diplomacy even before the invasion."

Ned Price, spokesperson for the State Department, stated at a press briefing that if Russia is serious about diplomacy, it should show its intention by stopping the bombing of Ukraine and withdrawing its troops.

Price pointed out that he has seen no signs that Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to ease tensions in Ukraine. He also emphasized, "I want to make it clear to President Putin that coercive diplomacy with a gun pointed is not something we will participate in, nor is it something that will end this conflict in a substantive and sustainable way."

Earlier, Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for the Russian Kremlin, said they are ready to send a delegation to Belarus for negotiations with Ukraine. This followed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's speech via Telegram the previous day, in which he expressed willingness to discuss Ukraine's neutral status. Ukraine's neutrality means it would not join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which Russia has opposed.

Jen Psaki, White House spokesperson, warned at an afternoon briefing that there is a very high possibility that Russian forces will capture Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Psaki confirmed that the United States, together with the European Union (EU), will announce direct sanctions against President Putin later that day.

She added that President Joe Biden does not want to hold talks with President Putin right now, but this does not mean that diplomacy is excluded forever.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.