The United States and its allies are working to ensure that by the end of next year, Ukraine can negotiate with Russia on favorable terms, said Jonathan Finer, the first deputy assistant to the U.S. president for national security, during his speech at the Aspen Security Forum.
"We want to position Ukraine by the end of next year in a way that forces Russia to decide whether to come to the negotiating table on terms that are acceptable to Ukraine (...) or face a stronger Ukraine," the official stated.
According to him, Ukraine will be able to launch a new offensive relying on the stronger industrial base of the United States and Europe, which will be building up capabilities for its defense industry, as well as Ukraine itself.
Finer noted that the United States is working on the development of the Ukrainian defense industry. He mentioned that these issues were discussed at a conference at the U.S. Department of Commerce with the participation of representatives from the industry and governments of the United States, Ukraine, and Europe.
As reported by the White House, the purpose of the conference was to "focus on significantly increasing the production of weapons to support Ukraine's defense."
Washington and Kyiv signed a memorandum of understanding on joint production and exchange of technical data. It includes cooperation in the "production of air defense systems, repair and technical maintenance, as well as the production of critical munitions."
Technical data was provided to Ukraine for initiating local production of hybrid air defense systems FrankenSAM.
The U.S. State Department plans to send an advisor to Kyiv "to support and expedite Ukraine's transition to compatible armed forces, combat corruption, and attract foreign investment in critical sectors."
An interagency "Ukraine Deals Team" has also been formed to provide recommendations to partners regarding potential deals and export requirements for Ukraine's defense industry.
