The US, China to meet for talks in Rome on March 14: White House

The White House announced on Sunday that an American group led by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will meet with a Chinese delegation in Rome on March 14 to discuss bilateral relations and the situation in Ukraine.

Sullivan will meet with Yang Jiechi, a Chinese Communist Party Politburo Member and Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission.

“The two sides will discuss ongoing efforts to manage the competition between our two countries and discuss the impact of 'Russia’s war' against Ukraine on regional and global security,” the White House said in a statement.

Sullivan will also meet with Luigi Mattiolo, Diplomatic Advisor to Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, to discuss the response to what Washington defined as "[Russian] President Putin's war of choice," according to the statement.

It is worth noting that the Kremlin stated earlier that "a meeting between Putin and Zelensky isn't unlikely."

Earlier, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he was ready for negotiations with Russia, more than two weeks after Moscow launched a special military operation in the Donbass region.

During a news conference, Zelensky said, "I welcome the signal from Russia ... I have held a hundred talks with different foreign leaders whom I gave every opportunity to mediate to allow a meeting [with the Russians] to happen."