The US has developed a new timeframe for assessing the seriousness of the intentions of the parties to the conflict in Ukraine, but the negotiations themselves should be held directly between Moscow and Kiev.
This was stated on Saturday by the head of the press service of the State Department Tammy Bruce in an interview with the Fox News channel.
„President Trump was very clear and publicly stated that he sees a new structure and a timetable - when we understand how serious both sides are, we will make the appropriate decisions“, Bruce emphasized.
According to her, the United States has helped the parties to the conflict sit down at the negotiating table. They are informed of Washington's demands. „But this should be between Ukraine and Russia. We brought people to the talks, they know what we want, but it all depends on them“, the State Department representative added.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced the second round of talks with Ukraine in Istanbul, scheduled for June 2. The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that the head of the delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, would hand over to Ukraine a memorandum from Russia on all aspects of overcoming the root causes of the crisis.
The previous round of talks was held on May 16 and ended with agreements on the exchange of prisoners of war under the formula “1000 for 1000“ and the presentation of a vision for a possible future ceasefire. Both sides expressed satisfaction with the results of the meeting.