White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said on Tuesday that Ukraine would decide for itself whether to give up its territory to end the Russian invasion – and declined to take a British stance that all Russian troops must withdraw.
Bedingfield was asked at the daily White House briefing for a statement from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office earlier in the day.
A CNN reporter noted that Johnson’s office “said today that they would accept nothing less than a complete withdrawal of all Russian forces from Ukrainian territory,” and asked, “Does President Biden share the view that reduced military activity is not enough?”
“We will allow the Ukrainians to conduct these negotiations. It’s not our job to start negotiations,” Bedingfield said.
“Again, our role is to strengthen Ukraine on the battlefield, to try to strengthen Ukraine at the negotiating table by imposing sanctions and costs on Russia. But I will not prejudge or predetermine the outcome of this conversation.”
Asked later by a Reuters reporter whether Russia would be allowed to retain control of the Donbass region, she said: “Again, I will not prejudge where these negotiations will ultimately end.”
Surrounding towns near Kyiv, Ukraine continue to be besieged by Russian forces.REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
An unnamed spokesman for Johnson was quoted as saying by several news outlets on Tuesday: “We want nothing less than a complete withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukrainian territory.”
Earlier in the day, Biden spoke by phone with Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz about the Ukraine war as Russia withdrew troops from near Kyiv after encountering stiff opposition.
Ukrainian and Russian officials meet in Turkey to discuss possible peace terms after more than a month of fighting.
Kate Bedingfield, White House communications director, insists Ukraine has full autonomy in negotiations to pull the Russians out of the country. NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this week he was ready to discuss making Ukraine a formally neutral country, but would not agree to cede any land.
“Ukraine’s territorial integrity should be guaranteed,” said Zelenskyy. “That means the conditions must be fair, otherwise the Ukrainian people will not accept them.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24 after recognizing as independent two Moscow-backed separatist republics in Ukraine’s eastern and mostly Russian-speaking Donbass region.
President Joe Biden has spoken with European leaders about the latest developments in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AP Photo/Patrick Semansky
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is calling for a full withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine without territorial compromise.AP Photo/Matt Dunham
Rebels in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions declared their independence from Ukraine in 2014 after protesters overthrew the pro-Russian President of Kyiv, Viktor Yanukovych. Russia also annexed the southern peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine after a controversial referendum in 2014.
Putin launched this year’s invasion of Ukraine about a month after Biden said at a press conference that the US would react differently if Russia launched a “small invasion,” which horrified Ukrainian leaders — with an official from Kyiv tell CNN that “Putin senses weakness” and could see “the green light” for an attack.