"We want to make sure that Ukraine is in the best position to protect its interests. However, it's resolved in the future, and I believe that - you've heard me say before - at the end of the day, it will be resolved through negotiations," the Pentagon chief said following a meeting with his Australian and Japanese counterparts on Saturday, TASS reported.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stressed that Moscow has never refused to resolve the Ukraine conflict through diplomacy. In a phone call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on November 15, the Russian leader reiterated that Moscow is open to talks on the basis of proposals he set out at a meeting with the Russian Foreign Ministry in June. Back then, Putin said Kyiv must withdraw its forces from Donbas and Novorossiya and drop its NATO bid. In addition, Russia wants all Western sanctions against it lifted and demands that Ukraine commit to a non-aligned and nuclear-free status.
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