Washington US President Joe Biden has assured his Ukrainian colleague Volodymyr Selenskyj that he will help him in the conflict with Russia. Biden made it clear that the United States and its allies “will respond resolutely if Russia continues to invade Ukraine,” said the White House in Washington on Sunday after a phone call between the two presidents. Biden and Selenskyj therefore also support diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions with Russia.
Talks between the USA and Russia in Geneva are planned for the coming week – January 9th and 10th. Thereafter, a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council is scheduled – the first in two and a half years. In addition, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will hold talks afterwards.
Selenskyj announced in the short message service Twitter that he had discussed the “joint actions of Ukraine, the USA and partners for maintaining peace in Europe” and steps towards de-escalation with Biden. According to information from Washington, Biden emphasized that the US is committed to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Zelenskyi had only said in his New Year’s address that he not only wanted to bring the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, back to Ukraine. The parts of eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian separatists should also come back, he said.
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According to the White House, Biden underlined that the Minsk peace plan applies to the solution of the conflict in eastern Ukraine. He therefore also supported the so-called Normandy format. Russia had repeatedly criticized Ukraine for repeatedly violating the agreements reached through international mediation.
In the Normandy format of four, France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine are trying to resolve the conflict that has been going on for almost eight years. According to UN estimates, more than 13,000 people have been killed in Donbass since 2014 in fighting between the Ukrainian government troops and the Russian-backed separatists.
More: Biden wants to mediate in the Ukraine conflict – but Putin remains unpredictable
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