The United States at the current stage does not expect diplomatic breakthroughs from Russian-Ukrainian contacts through Turkey’s mediation, a regular representative of the United States at NATO Julianne Smith said at a meeting with the Washington group of military observers.
Smith believes that throughout the previous stage of contacts with the Ukrainian side, “Russia continued to perform from maximalist positions and it seemed that it did not take these negotiations at all.” “So for this reason, we, I think, were disappointed with the efforts that took place so far. But, of course, when [Turkey President Tayyip] Erdogan made a proposal to collect the parties, this was considered at that time as a constructive step. But, given The behavior of the Russian side in these negotiations, I think we are skeptical of the fact that at this stage this will lead to some major breakthrough, ”she said.
Also, according to her, in Washington, they still “hope that there will be a certain diplomatic breakthrough and that Russian President Vladimir Putin will somehow take advantage of in some way to get out of this situation.”