US State Department: Irresponsible to be putting Russia and Ukraine on same level

Negotiations to establish peace in Ukraine should be held on the terms of the Ukrainian side, US Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said at a press briefing, Report informs referring to the website of the US Department of State.

“In the context of Russia-Ukraine, Russia is trying to totally erase and infringe the borders of another country, Ukraine. And they’re doing so by throwing the rules of the UN Charter, the rules of an international based, rules-based order, out the window. They are doing so with aggression. They are doing so by essentially wreaking havoc on civilian infrastructure across Ukraine. They are doing it – there is widespread reports of Russian armed forces committing atrocities. So let’s not try to put them – put this on the same page. Not that I’m indicating you are, but just using this opportunity,” Patel noted.

“President Zelenskyy himself has been clear about the fact that this ultimately will need to end through a negotiated solution, but that needs to be on the terms of the Ukrainians. And again, what I would tell you, what I would tell – what I told Alex, is that it’s irresponsible to be putting these two countries, Russia and Ukraine, on the same level. One is trying to erase the borders of the other, and one is trying to defend itself for its life. So very different circumstances.”