Prime Minister of Italy called for the participation of the United States in negotiations with Russia

The US needs to be involved in negotiations with RUSSIA and Ukraine to end the conflict and reach a peace deal. This was stated by Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi at a press conference in Washington after a meeting with President Joe Biden, reports REUTERS.

“All parties must make an effort and come to the fact that sit down at the negotiating table, including the United States,” said Draghi.

He said the US and Italy had agreed to continue to support Ukraine and "put pressure on Moscow," but also start talking about how to "build peace."

At the same time, Draghi stressed that no one should try to impose a peace agreement on Ukraine. "That would be a sure path to disaster," says the Italian prime minister.

Since the end of February, the Russian and Ukrainian delegations have held several rounds of peace talks, both in person and remotely. The greatest progress was made during the meeting in Istanbul on March 29, after which Russian forces were withdrawn from the Kyiv and Chernihiv directions.

On May 9, UN Secretary General António Guterres called on Moscow and Kyiv for a diplomatic settlement of the conflict. “We need a dialogue to discuss agreements in accordance with international law and the UN Charter,” he said. Later, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged Russia and Ukraine to resume and concretize negotiations in order to quickly reach a peaceful solution to the conflict.

The HEAD of US national intelligence, Avril Haynes, said that Washington sees no prospects for successful negotiations over the situation in Ukraine in the near future. “Given that both Russia and Ukraine believe they can continue to make military gains, we see no viable way forward through negotiations – at least in the short term,” she said. In addition, in her opinion, in Ukraine there is the possibility of a “potential escalation” in the next few months.