U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Karen Donfried said she visited Ukraine, Moscow and Brussels last week to facilitate the implementation of the Minsk agreements, Voice of America reported.
"The main purpose of my visit to Kiev, Moscow and Brussels was to report that the United States is open to facilitating the implementation of the Minsk agreements in support of the Normandy process.
This is not about the United States joining the Normandy Process. This is about the U.S. supporting the diplomacy that is already ongoing. And we will continue to cooperate on this issue not only with the Ukrainians and the Russians, but also with the French and the Germans and the OSCE," said Karen Donfried, assistant to the U.S. Secretary of State, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs.
During a Dec. 21 phone call with reporters, the diplomat called her trip "productive."
"This trip was productive, an important opportunity to reaffirm our commitments to Ukraine, to encourage Russia to de-escalate and continue on the diplomatic path, to finally work closely with our NATO allies and EU partners," Donfried added.
She said the U.S. and European allies agree that the Minsk agreements are the way to resolve the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
She suggested that bilateral contacts between the U.S. and Russia could take place as early as January: "As for bilateral cooperation, we will decide the date together with Russia. We think it will happen in January.
