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Washington does not think Russia trying to drive wedge between US, NATO — diplomat

Speaking to reporters in the Kremlin in the early hours of May 11, Putin urged Kiev to resume direct talks suspended in 2022, without preconditions

WASHINGTON, May 13. /TASS/. The US administration disagrees with the assumption that Russia’s policy on Ukraine is aimed at driving a wedge between the United States and NATO, US Permanent Representative to NATO Matthew Whitaker has told reporters.

Answering a corresponding question from a reporter during an online briefing, the US diplomat said: "No, I'm going to have to push back a little bit on that."

He went on to say that at this point, US President Donald Trump is "laser-focused" on putting an end to the conflict in Ukraine.

"But the only way that happens is if both sides come together and negotiate a peace deal that ends this," Whitaker said.

He described reports about the proposed May 15 Russia-Ukraine negotiations in Istanbul as "the most encouraging thing" since the start of Russia’s military operation.

"I think we all agree that peace is much better than war, and, you know, this meeting that might happen on Thursday is really the most encouraging thing we've had in the last three years," he said, adding that the conflict "needs to end." "We need to have peace in Europe, and we need to make sure that the fighting stops," the US diplomat added.

Speaking to reporters in the Kremlin in the early hours of May 11, Putin urged Kiev to resume direct talks suspended in 2022, without preconditions. The plan is to start dialogue in Istanbul on May 15. Putin also recalled that Russia had declared multiple ceasefires that Kiev consistently broke, including a recent truce during the celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory in the Great Patriotic War.

Vladimir Zelensky, in turn, announced plans to travel to Istanbul on Thursday. The statement came after Trump urged Ukraine to immediately accept Putin’s offer for talks. Prior to that, Zelensky had insisted that a 30-day ceasefire should precede any negotiations with Moscow.

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