Ukraine conflict eventually to be decided at negotiation table, says Pentagon chief

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has said that the conflict in Ukraine will be ultimately settled at the negotiating table, but it is impossible to say when.

“I think eventually this conflict will be decided at a negotiation table but when that point comes it is hard to predict still,” Austin said after a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG) at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on September 6.

“We are going continue to work to put Ukraine in the best possible position” for peace talks, Austin stated.

Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force General CQ Brown reaffirmed the commitment of the US and other nations to aiding Ukraine at the 24th meeting of the UDCG, a statement from US Department of Defence read.

The UDCG, is a coalition of some 50 nations that meet regularly to discuss Ukraine’s security needs, first met in April 2022 as a result of Austin’s efforts to assemble the group after Russia had invaded Ukraine two months earlier.

“This coalition has been indivisible in supporting Ukraine to repel Russian aggression,” Brown said at a press conference following the meeting which hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as its special guest.

Austin in his opening remarks at the meeting thanked allies and partners “who have given Ukraine’s forces the tools to defend themselves” including air defence, armour, artillery ammunition and, F-16 fighters.

This coalition has committed more than USD106 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since February 2022, he said.

“Putin seeks a world of empires and autocrats, a world where might makes right, a world where bullies get to invade their peaceful neighbors with impunity. And that would be profoundly dangerous for the United States and for peace loving people everywhere,” the US Defence Secretary said.

Responding to a reporter’s question Austin said, “…I think this war could end very quickly if Mr. Putin decided to pull his forces out of the places that he’s occupied in Ukraine. I mean, this was started by Putin. It could end — Putin could end it very quickly if he just made the simple and right decision to undo what he’s done.”