US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sees promise in Ukraine’s proposal for a partial ceasefire. This is ahead of talks between US and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia.
Ukraine wants to propose an aerial and naval truce with Russia during the negotiations on Tuesday. A Ukrainian official told AFP that this would be part of Kyiv‘s plan.
Russia has said it will not agree to a temporary ceasefire. It claims this would just give Ukraine time and prevent its military collapse.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is in Saudi Arabia. He met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, but he won’t play a formal role in the talks between his country and the US.
The Ukrainian team will be led by Zelensky’s head of office, Andriy Yermak. They will also have national security advisers and foreign and defense ministers.
Rubio said it was essential to “establish clearly Ukraine’s intentions” for a peace deal. He added that both sides needed to understand there is no military solution to the conflict. It can only be resolved through diplomatic means.
This comes as Donald Trump puts pressure on Zelensky to agree to a ceasefire with Moscow without any US security guarantees.
The talks are the first official meeting since Zelensky’s visit to the White House turned into an argument last month. The US then paused military aid and intelligence sharing for Ukraine.
Rubio said he hoped this pause could be resolved, but that the negotiations on Tuesday would be key. He added that the President wanted to use all tools at his disposal to end the war.
Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, expected “substantial progress” during the talks. He also thought Zelensky might sign a minerals deal with the US later in the week.
Among the issues to be discussed are security protocols for Ukraine and territorial issues. The UK Prime Minister spoke with Trump ahead of the talks, hoping for a positive outcome.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It currently holds around one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory, including Crimea which it annexed in 2014.
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