Ukraine interested in U.S. participation in process of resolving Donbas conflict - Dpty FM

Ukraine is interested in the participation of the United States in the process of resolving the conflict with Russia, said Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Vasyl Bodnar.

"In our opinion, first of all, solidarity with Europe, restoration of good relations with the EU, key players in the EU, is important for the strong position of the U.S. in the EU, in order to create a united West in opposition to the challenges that we have in the region. This is one of the important dimensions, which also affects us, because, as you know, Germany and France are participants in the Normandy format, and we will be very interested in the U.S. participation in the process of resolving the conflict with Russia," Bodnar said, speaking at the international roundtable talk entitled "Security Challenges in Eastern Europe in 2021: the Game of the Great States" on Thursday.

He noted that Ukraine really wants to strengthen its partnership with the United States and named the priorities for more active cooperation to resolve the situation in Donbas, participation in the Crimean platform, sanctions policy and military cooperation.

"It is obvious to us that after Russia started hostilities and wars, we must be especially careful about further actions. If you look at what actions Russia has already taken - the hybrid dimension of intervention in Moldova, Belarus, the ongoing war in Ukraine - you can be sure that Russia will continue its hostile actions, unfortunately," the deputy minister added.

Bodnar pointed out the need for how to attract the Russian Federation to fulfill its obligations in accordance with international law.

"If we do not understand correctly what is happening in Russia and who is playing and what role, we will not be able to draw up an appropriate strategy of constructive resistance to defeat these hostile actions. We need to think not only about how to protect ourselves, but also about how to drag Russia to comply with customary law and make it fulfill its obligations in accordance with international law. The things we manage to do now will then have consequences for further developments in the region. It will be difficult for the new administration to do this without the help of the United States," he explained.