Ryabkov: "We are on the threshold" of resolving the Ukrainian crisis, Russia is ready for a deal

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov in an interview with ABC News expressed confidence that the resolution of the Ukrainian crisis is already "on the threshold."

The presenter asked how Ryabkov is sure that the resolution of the Ukrainian crisis is already on the threshold.

"I am very confident and almost convinced that we are on the threshold of resolving this terrible crisis," the deputy minister stressed.

He added that "the Russian special military operation was inevitable due to the fact that events were developing in a very wrong direction."

As the deputy minister noted, now, after "all these terrible tragedies and events in other places that were not necessarily related to this situation, but still happened," many around the world, including the United States, began to "consider an alternative."

"We are ready for a deal, to use the words of the President [of the United States Donald] Trump," the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister stressed.

EADaily reminds: the day before, on December 15, the second round of negotiations between the US and EU delegations ended in Berlin. Ukraine according to Donald Trump's peace plan. The first round was held in Berlin on December 14. Following the discussions, Volodymyr Zelensky, who has repeatedly refused Washington's compromise proposals for a settlement, said that it had not yet been possible to bring the positions on the issue of territories closer to the United States at the talks in Berlin.

Trump's envoys at talks with Zelensky in Berlin offered Ukraine security guarantees following the example of Article 5 of the NATO charter if Kiev agrees to a peace deal, which, according to the US plan, requires the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbass. We are talking about "extremely strong guarantees" that are "essentially similar to the 5th article" of NATO on collective defense, two American officials tell the BBC. The Trump administration is confident that Russia will agree to the plan, and besides, it is ready to ratify the package of guarantees for Ukraine through the Senate, they said.

During the negotiations conducted by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, Zelensky repeatedly refused to surrender Donbass, insisting on "freezing" the war along the current front line. The territorial issue remained unresolved, according to Reuters sources.