BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 29. Iran's providing military capabilities to Russia is an ongoing part of the conversation across the NATO Alliance, Ambassador Julianne Smith, the U.S. Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, said during a virtual press briefing, Trend reports.
"On Iran’s support to Russia in providing some military capabilities, particularly the drones, you’ve seen press reporting on this; you’ve heard the U.S. government talk about our concern about the fact that the Iranians have been providing assistance to Russia that is then being used in the war. That is a topic of conversation that has come up in NATO channels in the past, and I think that will continue to be an issue that we will track collectively," she said.
As for the negotiations on Ukraine, she said the messaging on this particular question has been quite clear.
"We have stated repeatedly, even before February 24th when Russia went into Ukraine, nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine. And by that we mean we really will leave the question of negotiations in the hands of President Zelenskyy. We will allow him to determine the conditions under which he is willing to come to the table and when he is willing to come to the table.
Our position in the United States – and I think is replicated across the Alliance, I can say with some confidence – is to ensure that we put President Zelenskyy and Ukraine in the strongest position possible for when those negotiations come. We do not know when Russia will be willing to come to the table and take negotiations seriously. We’ve seen no indication of that so far. But again, we want to leave this decision in the hands of the Ukrainians and we are not nudging them or encouraging them towards any particular date or timeline. This is really a decision best left in the hands of President Zelenskyy," added the Ambassador.