Thomas-Greenfield: Russia Has Not Made Good Faith Efforts to Negotiate End Ukraine War

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Russia has not made good faith efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine through negotiations.

Anchor Jake Tapper said, “President Zelensky said without negotiations, they can’t end the world. He also warned about World War III if negotiations fail. Do you see a negotiated settlement between Ukraine and Russia as the only practical way to avoid World War III?”

Thomas-Greenfield said, “It certainly is an important factor. We have supported the negotiations that President Zelensky has attempted to do with the Russians, and I do use the word attempted because the negotiations seem to be one-sided. The Russians have not leaned into any possibility for negotiated and diplomatic solutions. We tried quite a bit before Russia decided to move forward in this brutal attack on Ukraine, and those diplomatic efforts were not responded to well by the Russians, and they’re not responding now. We’re still hopeful that the Ukrainian effort will end this brutal war.”

She added, “I can’t preview what they will end up coming up within their negotiations with the Russians, but they know, and I think President Zelenskyy has been clear, people are dying. Russian soldiers are dying, but so many Ukrainian citizens are feeling the impact of this. He has to take all of that into account as he approaches the Russians at the negotiating table.”

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