Doha, December 6, 2019 (EFE).- The US Ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, stressed today, Saturday in Doha, that final peace between Ukraine and Russia is “closer than ever,” although it will not be “at any cost” for both parties.
He said during a panel discussion at the Doha Forum that began today in the Qatari capital, “This may be our best chance. I mean, we are close. We are closer than ever to peace. This, as (US President Donald) Trump said, is a difficult situation to get to the right point.”
The ambassador visited Ukraine four weeks ago and noted that he saw “firsthand how technology is being deployed on the battlefield and how Ukraine continues to fight against the Russian invasion.”
Although he explained that “we must all promote peace,” he said, “It is clear that it will not be peace at any price, because in the end, the Ukrainians will have to accept any agreement reached, and the Russians will have to prove that they really want to end this war.”
The governments of the United States and Ukraine agreed, after two days of meetings between negotiators from both countries, that any progress toward a peace agreement in the war depends on Russia demonstrating a serious and concrete commitment.
This came during the sixth meeting between the Special Envoy for Peace, Stephen Witkov, and Jared Kushner, with the Ukrainian Minister of Internal Security and Defense, Rustam Omerov, and the Chief of the General Staff, General Andrei Hnatov.
On the other hand, an American delegation consisting of envoys of President Donald Trump, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, traveled to Moscow earlier this week to personally present to President Vladimir Putin the results of the previous round of contacts with the Ukrainians.
Putin made clear after that meeting that he would not abandon his regional ambitions in Ukraine for the sake of peace.
Last month, the United States presented a peace plan that includes Russian demands such as a reduction in the number of the Ukrainian army, the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from all parts of Donbas, or Kiev abandoning joining NATO and deploying post-war coalition forces on its territory.
Later, Ukraine removed conditions it considered unacceptable from the document during a meeting of its negotiators with the Americans in Geneva. Moscow rejected the amended version of it as a basis for starting direct negotiations. Evie