US Congressmen urge Joe Biden to sit down to talk to Russia

US congressmen called upon US President Joe Biden to start negotiations with Russia to resolve the crisis in Ukraine, The Washington Post said.

As many as 30 members of the House of Representatives from the left wing of the Democratic Party in Congress signed the letter to Biden. Liberal Democrats note that the catastrophic effects of the crisis in Ukraine spread far beyond Ukraine's borders. Prices on food and gas continue rising in the United States, let alone spikes in wheat, fertilizer and fuel prices that have contributed to global food shortages.

John Kirby, Strategic Communications Coordinator at the National Security Council, acknowledged the receipt of the appeal. He noted, however, that negotiations were impossible because Kyiv was not ready for them yet.

"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky does not believe that now is the time to negotiate with Mr. Putin. We respect that opinion," Biden's adviser said.

State Department spokesman Ned Price also said that it would be up to Ukraine to decide how to negotiate with Russia. The US will continue to help Kyiv on the battlefield so that Ukraine is stronger at the negotiating table, he noted, adding that Washington saw no signs of Russia's readiness to work towards diplomacy and dialogue.

Earlier, Biden confirmed that he was sharing the position of the G7 — "Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine itself.” According to him, he will not discuss Russia's continued presence in Ukraine.

On October 6, Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine, complained that "peacekeepers" were trying to "decide the fate of Ukraine" without asking Kyiv's opinion. He called such initiatives "impossible fantasies" and said that such discussions were not worth the time, since "Ukrainians will never let them come true."