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US denies report it agreed with Germany to nudge Ukraine toward peace talks

It was earlier reported that the US and Germany want to push Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky toward talks with Russia by providing Ukraine with only just enough weapons to hold the current frontline

WASHINGTON, November 27. /TASS/. A US State Department official said the recent report in the German newspaper Bild that Ukraine is being pushed to hold peace talks is not true.

"The Bild story I thought was intriguing. But no, there's no US policy. We've always said that this is a matter for Ukraine to decide. We decide nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine," US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O’Brien said.

He was taking questions ahead of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to Europe this week.

"The other reality here is we see no indication that Russia is willing to entertain substantive, real peace negotiations," O’Brien said. "It would be pointless to have a discussion on the Ukrainian side. It's not a dialogue. It's a monologue of surrender. So it's nothing that is part of our policy."

According to the Bild report, which cited sources in the German government, the US and Germany want to push Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky toward talks with Russia by providing Ukraine with only just enough weapons to hold the current frontline.

The November 24 report said the US and Germany would like Zelensky to realize further hostilities make no sense. However, neither Chancellor Olaf Scholz nor US President Joe Biden plan to make direct demands that he start negotiations, according to Bild. The US and Germany are the largest suppliers of weapons to Kiev.

Bild said the situation at the battlefield is "grim" for Ukraine and that "Russian troops are advancing, albeit slowly." According to the newspaper, the German government's main goal now is to help officials in Kiev achieve a "strategically favorable negotiating position." The White House and the chancellor's office are coordinating their actions in this matter, the sources told Bild.

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