Biden assures Ukraine's leader of U.S. support to deter Russia
The Hindu
In a statement after the call with Mr. Biden, Ukraine said Mr. Zelenskyy was offering “clear proposals to unblock the peace process and is ready to discuss them in various formats.
President Joe Biden reached out to Ukraine's leader December 9 as the United States moved to take a more direct role in diplomacy between that country and Russia, part of a broader effort to dissuade Russia from a destabilizing invasion of its western neighbor.
But any negotiations to peacefully resolve Europe’s tangled East-West rivalries will present minefields for the U.S. President.
Mr. Biden made his offer of American diplomacy during a two-hour online session with Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 7. Mr. Biden proposed joining the Europeans in negotiations not just to settle the conflict in eastern Ukraine but to address Mr. Putin’s larger strategic objections to NATO expanding its membership and building military capacity ever closer to Russia’s borders.