OREANDA-NEWS Washington and Kiev expected negotiations with Moscow on the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, regardless of the outcome of the US elections and the victory of both Donald Trump and his opponent Kamala Harris. This is reported by CNN, citing sources.

"Both the American and the Ukrainian administrations expected that negotiations with Moscow could begin in the first half of 2025, regardless of who wins the US elections," the channel quoted the interlocutors from the White House as saying.

The sources also added that the expansion of military assistance to Ukraine is also directly related to hypothetical negotiations. According to them, this is supposedly able to strengthen Kiev's negotiating positions.

Earlier, Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin said that the United States would allocate a new $500 million package of military assistance to Ukraine, which would include ammunition and equipment for American F-16 fighter jets. This decision was made due to special presidential powers, which allow recognizing part of the reserves of American military arsenals as surplus.