There is significant similarity in Russian, U.S. approaches to what could serve as Ukrainian settlement framework - deputy FM

MOSCOW. Dec 24 (Interfax) - There is a significant similarity in Russian and U.S. approaches to what could serve as a framework for Ukrainian settlement agreements, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.

"As I understand, there is a significant similarity in the approaches to what, in principle, could serve as the framework for this whole body of agreements," Ryabkov said in an interview with Interfax.

He was asked about the reasons for his recent statement that Russia and the United States were on the verge of settling the Ukrainian conflict and whether the two states were acting in unison.

"I would be careful about unison, but there is no direct dissonance either," Ryabkov said.

The prospects of settling the Ukraine crisis substantially depend on the course pursued by the incumbent U.S. administration, Ryabkov said.

"I believe that it largely depends on the course pursued by the incumbent administration. In general, if it weren't for the current administration, we would not have the opportunity today, at the turn of 2026, to acknowledge that a framework has been established that, as the president stated, is generally acceptable to us, and that was formalized in the understandings reached in Anchorage," Ryabkov said.

He was asked whether Russia had an understanding of the potential role the U.S. played in the possible future agreements on Ukraine and how much the Ukrainian settlement prospects depended directly on the incumbent administration.