WASHINGTON, March 12. /TASS/. Russia must agree to ceasefire proposals in Ukraine so that "concrete negotiations for peace" can begin, former US Ambassador to Moscow Jack Matlock said.
"I applaud the revival of diplomatic communication between the United States and Russia. [US] President [Donald] Trump’s proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, now endorsed by the Ukrainian government, should be accepted by [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin to permit concrete negotiations for peace, which will require compromises by both parties," he told a TASS correspondent.
In recent years, Matlock, who served as US ambassador to Russia from 1987 to 1991, has consistently advocated Washington's rejection of the course of confrontation with Russia, criticized NATO and its policy of expansion, pointing out that it has turned into an offensive alliance. He emphasized that Russia would not have launched its special military operation if the West had not continued to try to drag Ukraine into NATO. The former diplomat also advocated negotiations between Washington and Moscow.