The White House said on Friday that only Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskіy can make the decision to start peace talks with Russia, rejecting the idea that the US is pressuring Kyiv to negotiate, reports AFP.

 "We all agree that a negotiated diplomatic settlement is the next best thing to Putin simply withdrawing his troops," White House National Security Adviser John Kirby said.

 "We also said that Zelensky himself should determine whether he is ready for negotiations and when and what those negotiations will look like," Kirby said.

 "No one from the United States is pressuring or pushing him to the negotiating table," he added.

 The comments came two days after the Pentagon's top general, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, suggested that after major victories on the battlefield and a significant weakening of Russian forces, Kyiv could take advantage of this and begin negotiations to end the war.

 Milli noted that it is unlikely that Ukrainian forces will soon be able to retake all the lands occupied by Russia, especially Crimea, which Moscow seized in 2014.

 But Kirby stressed that there is no pressure and that the US is not taking any action of its own.

 "We are not going to hold discussions with the Russians about ending the war in Ukraine without Ukraine's participation in this conversation," he said.

 "These conversations are not taking place because President Zelenskіy has made it clear that he is not ready for this," Kirby emphasized.

 "And you can't blame him," he said about Zelenskіy, "because Moscow itself has indicated that it is not ready for negotiations."