US ready for diplomatic engagement with Russia

KABUL (Pajhwok): US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the Biden administration is ready to engage in meaningful diplomacy with Russia if Moscow shows willingness to do the same.

In an interview with the BBC, Blinken said on Friday: “It depends entirely on President Putin and on Russia. If they show any signs of being willing to engage in meaningful diplomacy, of course, we’ll engage.”

Russia’s state-run news agency TASS quoted him as saying: “We look to our Ukrainian partners too. They are talking to the Russians, but that’s not producing anything.”

Following the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow and Kiev held the first round of talks in the Gomel region of Belarus on February 28.

On March 3, the two sides held the second round of negotiations in Belovezhskaya Pushcha in Belarus. They agreed on humanitarian corridors for civilians.

PAN Monitor/mud