U.S. could deny exiting peace talks if conditions become favorable — diplomat

He shared his opinions on Espreso TV.

“He pulled out (Trump from the negotiations on the Russia-Ukraine war — ed.), it was already announced that he pulled out. I mean, we talked about this before all of it started happening — what was the U.S. status over the last three months, maybe a bit less? It was the status of a mediator. You remember who tried to play the role of mediator? There were many proposals. In some ways, Saudi Arabia offered its services, Turkey proposed mediation through the Black Sea route — the so-called grain deal. And the U.S. — everyone expected the U.S. might really take on that role. Expectations were too high, but I also said that only the U.S. could truly act as a mediator. Because Putin recognizes only the U.S. or China. In this case, China is, in my opinion, too close to Russia, far too close. And the U.S. did try to take that role. Then there was a statement — you know, when there are no results, there’s no loud exit — there was a statement from the State Department spokesperson. Then a statement from the Vice President followed, saying: ‘We are de facto no longer mediators,’” he said.

Valeriy Chaly noted that, for now, it’s not appropriate to speak of the United States as a mediator in negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.

At the same time, he suggested that the U.S. could return to that role if Putin suddenly decides to change his position and favorable conditions arise for the White House administration.

“The way they pulled out, they could just as easily say: we never left. Donald Trump could say: oh, finally, after all these months of struggle, we’ve now achieved a result as mediators. That’s possible. Or it could go the other way — we simply won’t refer to them as mediators, and they never officially acquired that status through international agreements. There are cases when a country delegates mediation. Ukraine did not delegate such a role to the U.S. We wanted, and still want, the U.S. to return in some role as a partner. We want a partner that supplies weapons, supports us with sanctions, puts pressure on the enemy via oil markets, and so on. And that opportunity has now appeared.

What’s the upside? Every time we asked why the G7 or the U.S. wasn’t voting the way they used to, the answer was: 'We’re mediators,' 'We can’t vote against Russia right now, our main goal is peace.' And that was it. But now, there’s no such excuse. Now, it’s time to be on the right side of history. One way or another, this is going to push the entire U.S. political establishment toward what we’ve been expecting: a stronger stance on Putin and more pressure on Russia. And it’s already happening. It really is — though not to the extent we would like,” Valeriy Chaly added.

• On May 3, Reuters, citing its sources among U.S. officials, reported that American officials had finalized the development of new economic sanctions against Russia; however, it remains unclear whether U.S. President Donald Trump will approve the new sanctions package.