President Biden told reporters Friday that he was “not going to tell” Ukraine whether to cede land in an effort to end the Russian invasion.
Ukrainian troops locked in brutal combat for key city as Putin believes time on his side
In a speech about the May jobs report from Rehoboth, Del., the president said that while it “appears” a “settlement” would be needed between Ukraine and Russia to end the war, he was not going to advise Ukrainians that they needed to cede territory to make that happen.
“From the beginning, I’ve said — and not everyone’s agreed with me — nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine. It’s their territory,” he told reporters. “I’m not going to tell them what they should and shouldn’t do.”
Last month, Biden signed a $40 billion package of new military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, further deepening his administration’s commitment amid signs that the United States and its allies are preparing for a longer conflict. The package includes $20 billion in additional military aid to finance the transfer of advanced weapons systems — aid that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said was “needed more than ever.”
The idea that Ukraine should cede territory to Russia to end the war was floated last month by former U.S. secretary of state Henry A. Kissinger at a conference at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. After saying that Western countries should remember Russia’s importance to Europe and not get swept up “in the mood of the moment,” Kissinger also pushed for the West to force Ukraine into accepting negotiations with a “status quo ante,” which means the previous state of affairs.
“Negotiations need to begin in the next two months before it creates upheavals and tensions that will not be easily overcome. Ideally, the dividing line should be a return to the status quo ante,” said Kissinger, 98, according to the Daily Telegraph. “Pursuing the war beyond that point would not be about the freedom of Ukraine, but a new war against Russia itself.”
The suggestion was met by backlash from Zelensky adviser Mykhailo Podolyak, who said that Ukraine could not cede territory, even if it leads to peace, and that the country “does not trade its sovereignty for someone to fill their wallet.”
Source: WP
