This statement appeared after a telephone conversation between the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergei Lavrov, during which they both discussed progress – or lack of them – in a peaceful process.
“Rubio was satisfied with, like all of us, the exchange of a thousand prisoners that took place on the weekend,” said Bruce.
A spokeswoman for the State Department added that Rubio repeated Trump's appeal about “a constructive dialogue in good faith with Ukraine as the only way to end the war.”
Asked if Lavrov explained the issue of the peace memorandum promised by Moscow, Bruce replied that she had no new information. She added that the United States would assess Russia based on its actions, not words.
Answering the question of whether the resumption of conversations in Istanbul is only a political game, Bruce refused to present a private opinion.
Pressed by the question of whether the dialogue in good faith can be continued in the face of the ongoing military offensive of Russia, Bruce replied: “We will find out. I will repeat, we will judge – and I think that the president assessed Putin based on what was clearly very frustrating for him. It's about killing civilians during conversations about the suspension of weapons. “
One of the maximalistic conditions of the end of the war in Ukraine raised by Vladimir Putin is a written warranty from Western countries that NATO will not expand further east.
The President of Ukraine Wołodymyr Zelnski recently said that no one saw a peace memorandum that Russia allegedly proposed, which raises further doubts about Moscow's involvement in negotiations.
On Thursday, the White House supported again calls to the second round of peace conversations between Russia and Ukraine, which are to take place on June 2 in Istanbul.
According to Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, the United States hope that the meeting will take place and perceive them as a step forward, and President Trump personally called both sides to take direct negotiations.
Moscow proposed a meeting to present “Memorandum” determining the terms of the long -term agreement. However, Ukraine asked for the document to be forwarded earlier to assess the seriousness of Russia, but the Kremlin rejected this request.
Ukrainian officials remain skeptical, reminding that Putin left the first round of conversations in Istanbul on May 16, despite the fact that he proposed them himself, sending low -level delegates in return. Trump warned earlier that Putin “Igra with Fire”, in the face of the growing frustration of the West with Moscow's behavior.
