Three days after the White House summit on Ukraine, US signals have softened and commitment appears limited. Politico reported that Elbridge Colby told European allies the US would only offer minimal guarantees, leaving most burden to Europe. A NATO diplomat said the US is not fully committed. Diplomatic prospects for a ceasefire or a Zelenskyy-Putin meeting have stalled as Russian officials downplay expectations. Sergei Lavrov said any meeting needs careful preparation; Dmitry Polansky said it should not be a meeting for its own sake. Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged a strong US reaction if Putin refuses to meet and noted fresh Russian attacks overnight, including against an American enterprise in Zakarpatia.
Overnight, Politico reported that the US undersecretary of defence for policy, Elbridge Colby, told European allies that the US would only offer minimal guarantees for Ukraine, with most burden left for Europe to pick up. A Nato diplomat briefered on the talks told Politico: The US is not fully committed to anything. Any prospects of making further diplomatic progress also appeared to have stalled, with numerous Russian officials and diplomats toning down the expectations for both ceasefire and a potential Zelenskyy-Putin meeting.
Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said that any meeting would need to be prepared with the utmost care, while the country's deputy representative to the UN, Dmitry Polansky, told the BBC that it shouldn't be a meeting for the sake of a meeting. Or to translate to plain English: thanks but no, thanks. Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to these stalling tactics this morning, calling for a strong reaction from the US if Putin refuses to meet him, as discussed with Trump.
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