Putin insincere about peace talks, takes conflict to new degree of ‘barbarism,’ a high U.S. diplomat saysYesterday

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be honest about peace talks with Ukraine whereas he takes the conflict to a brand new degree of “barbarism” by attempting to show off the lights of civilians, a high U.S. diplomat stated on Saturday.

U.S. Underneath Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland met President Volodymyr Zelensky and different senior Ukrainian officers in Kyiv to indicate assist at a time when Russia is attempting to destroy the nation’s vitality infrastructure.

“Diplomacy is clearly everybody’s goal, however it’s a must to have a prepared accomplice,” she instructed reporters. “And it’s very clear, whether or not it’s the vitality assaults, whether or not it’s the rhetoric out of the Kremlin and the final angle, that Putin will not be honest or prepared for that.”

U.S. President Joe Biden stated on Thursday he was ready to talk to Putin if the Russian chief was all for ending the conflict. However the thought died rapidly when the Kremlin stated the West should acknowledge Moscow’s declared annexation of 4 Ukrainian areas.

Eric Reguly: The brand new value cap on Russian oil is not going to ship the deadly blow to Putin’s conflict machine, perhaps not even a bruise

This response from Russia, Nuland stated, confirmed “how not severe they’re”.

Russia has been finishing up big assaults on Ukraine’s electrical energy transmission and heating infrastructure roughly weekly since October, in what Kyiv and its allies say is a deliberate marketing campaign to hurt civilians, a conflict crime.

“Putin has taken this conflict to a brand new degree of barbarism, taking it into each single Ukrainian residence as he tries to show off the lights and the water and obtain what he couldn’t on the battlefield,” Nuland stated.

Russian Overseas Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was fast to reply.

“It’s not for Nuland to show the world – solely the US and NATO mixed destroyed extra vitality networks than the US destroyed by itself,” Zakharova stated on the Telegram channel, pointing to the 1999 assaults on Serbia.

In the course of the assaults in Serbia, warplanes shut off energy to greater than 70 per cent of the world, in keeping with NATO.

Nuland additionally met Andriy Yermak, the pinnacle of Zelensky’s workplace, who expressed thanks for the billions of {dollars} value of support Washington has dedicated to Ukraine.

“Ukraine’s victory, which we’re certain of, will likely be our joint victory,” Zelensky’s workplace quoted him as telling Nuland.