The world should know horrors committed by Russia in Ukraine, – US State Department spokesman

On August  1, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller stated that Russia is not ready to engage in real diplomacy.

According to the US spokesman Russia “has never been willing to engage in actual diplomacy”. These statements were made commenting on a question from a journalist about the relevance of the talks in Saudi Arabia without Russia’s participation.

Talks in Saudi Arabia about ending war in Ukraine

According to the diplomats involved in the discussion, high-ranking officials from 30 countries will arrive in Jeddah on 5 and 6 August. Russia has not been invited to the meeting.

The discussion aims at finding ways to end the war in Ukraine waged by Russia since it started a full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Ukrainian and Western officials hope these efforts can culminate in a peace summit later this year, at which world leaders will sign common principles to end the war.

Read more in the article: 30 nations talks on Ukraine to be held in Saudi Arabia.

Miller statement about security concerns regarding Russia actions

The US State Department spokesperson emphasises that the US was ready to talk about any genuine security concerns that Russia had before the war started. 

“As for the talks that will be held in Saudi Arabia, it is important that countries around the world hear directly from Ukraine about the horrors that have happened to their country, about the attacks on civilians, about the attacks on schools, hospitals, apartment buildings, and civilian infrastructure, about how Russia has violated their territorial integrity, violated their sovereignty,” 

The US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller

US to discuss food security at UN Security Council

During the briefing, Miller also spoke about the US plans to preside over the UN Security Council in August.

During its presidency of the UN Security Council, the United States will focus on food security. According to the State Department spokesman, after Russia started the war in Ukraine, grain prices increased to historically high levels. The Black Sea Grain Initiative helped to reduce prices, but after Russia terminated its participation in the programme, grain prices rose by 17%.

The US is considering a new security strategy in two areas: addressing current challenges and a strategy for the future.