Ukraine dispute will ultimately be decided at negotiating table: Pentagon chief

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said the conflict in Ukraine will eventually be resolved at the negotiating table, but it is impossible to say when.

“I think ultimately this conflict will be decided at the negotiating table, but when that time will come is still hard to predict,” Austin said after a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on September 6.

“We will continue to work to put Ukraine in the best possible position for peace talks,” Austin said.

A statement issued by the US Defense Department said that Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force General CQ Brown reaffirmed the commitment of the US and other countries to assist Ukraine at the 24th meeting of the UDCG.

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

“This coalition is giving full support to Ukraine to repel Russian aggression,” Brown said at a press conference held after the meeting, which was attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a special guest.

In his/her opening remarks at the meeting, Austin thanked allies and partners “who have provided Ukrainian forces with equipment for self-defense,” including air defense, armor, artillery ammunition and F-16 fighter jets.

he/she said the alliance has committed to provide more than $106 billion in security assistance to Ukraine through February 2022.

“Putin wants a world of empires and dictators, a world where might is right, a world where bullies can attack their peaceful neighbors with impunity. And that would be extremely dangerous for peace-loving people in the United States and around the world,” the US defense secretary said.

Responding to a reporter’s question, Austin said, “…I think this war could end very quickly if Mr. Putin decides to withdraw his/her troops from the positions that he/she occupies in Ukraine. I mean, it was started by Putin. It could end — Putin could end it very quickly if he/she made the simple and right decision to pull back what he/she’s done.”