Bessent says Ukraine conflict must end through negotiations
In short
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the conflict in Ukraine should be settled through negotiations. Russian outlets reported that he rejected President Volodymyr Zelensky’s framing of Ukrainian victory as the route to ending the conflict.
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U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a settlement of the conflict in Ukraine would be reached through diplomacy rather than the victory-based framing he attributed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Kommersant reported that Bessent called Zelensky’s comments a false dilemma. RIA Novosti said he made the remarks on Meet the Press. [ 3 , 4 ]
Bessent said President Donald Trump had made clear that he wanted the war to end and was working on a settlement every day, according to Kommersant. TASS and RBC also reported Bessent’s position that negotiations would resolve the conflict. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Kommersant described earlier talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, with U.S. participation, in Abu Dhabi on January 23–24 and February 4–5, followed by talks in Geneva on February 17–18. It cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying Moscow hoped negotiations would resume soon. [ 3 ]
Why it matters
Bessent said President Donald Trump was working daily on a settlement. Kommersant reported that the Kremlin hoped negotiations would resume soon.