Today at 21:06
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that all sides involved in negotiations to end the war between Ukraine and Russia will have to agree to the terms of any settlement and that “there has to be concessions made by all sides.”
He made this statement following the U.S.-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, Ukrinform reports, citing The Guardian.
Rubio said that President Donald Trump is the only leader who can bring peace to Ukraine.
“What’s important to understand is two things. The first is [that] the only leader in the world who can make this happen, who can even bring people together to begin to talk about it in a serious way, is President Trump. The second thing I would say is that in order for a conflict to end, everyone involved in that conflict has to be okay with it; it has to be acceptable to them,” Rubio said.
He added that today’s meeting was “the first step of a long and difficult journey.” According to him, “in order to bring an end to any conflict, there has to be concessions made by all sides,” but it would be wrong to “predetermine those.”
“The goal is to bring an end to this conflict in a way that’s fair, enduring, sustainable and acceptable to all parties involved. What that looks like? Well, that’s what this what the ongoing engagement is going to be all about,” Rubio said.
He hinted at a role for the EU further down the line, saying that “there are other parties that have sanctions, the European Union is going to have to be at the table at some point, because they have sanctions as well that have been imposed.”
Negotiations between the U.S. delegation and Russian officials began in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on February 18.
The discussions lasted over four hours, and both sides agreed to create negotiation groups to discuss Ukraine-related issues. They also agreed to lay the groundwork for future cooperation on matters of mutual geopolitical interest, as well as historical economic and investment opportunities that may emerge after a successful resolution of the conflict in Ukraine.
