Today's first meeting between Ukraine and the US after the sharp verbal clash between the presidents of the two countries - Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump, comes against the backdrop of intensified Russian attacks on Ukraine, the British newspaper “Guardian“ writes in the headline, BTA reports.
The publication quotes US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said that “there is no military solution” of the conflict in Ukraine ahead of his talks in Saudi Arabia today, which will seek to restore the severely strained relations between the two countries, which have left Kiev without support from Washington.
The Ukrainian delegation, led by President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff Andriy Yermak, will meet with Rubio and other senior White House officials on neutral territory in the Saudi city of Jeddah, the Guardian reports.
Ukraine's position in the talks will be completely constructive, Zelensky said yesterday, adding that he hoped for practical results from the negotiations to end Russia's war in Ukraine.
Traveling to Jeddah, Rubio noted that he needed to assess Kiev's willingness to make concessions to achieve peace.
„The most important thing we should leave here with is the strong feeling that Ukraine is ready to make "The Russians will have to take difficult steps, and the Russians will have to take difficult steps, to end this conflict or at least to stop it in some form," the US Secretary of State told reporters on the plane.
“I think both sides need to come to an understanding that there is no military solution to this situation“, Rubio added.
“The Russians cannot take over all of Ukraine, and it will obviously be very difficult for Ukraine in any reasonable period of time to get the Russians to somehow return to the positions they were in in 2014“, the US Secretary of State said.
These will be the first official talks between Ukraine and the US after the sharp verbal clash in the Oval Office between Zelensky and Trump, after which the US president cut off crucial military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine, commented “Guardian“.
The two presidents will not take part in the talks, although Zelensky arrived in Jeddah yesterday to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose government is acting as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia.
During the meeting in Jeddah, the crown prince stressed the kingdom's support for international efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine and achieve peace, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported early this morning.
Zelensky has also sent his foreign and defense ministers, Andriy Sibiga and Rustem Umerov, to Jeddah for the talks.
“We are fully committed to a constructive dialogue and hope to discuss and agree on the necessary solutions and steps. Realistic proposals have been presented. "It is crucial to act quickly and effectively," the Ukrainian president wrote on social media yesterday.
Rubio believes that possible concessions from Ukraine are the "only way" to stop the war, writes the headline of “Politico“.
Ukraine must give up some of the territories seized by Russia since 2014. to reach an agreement to end the war, the US Secretary of State said yesterday before leaving for Saudi Arabia for peace talks.
“They (the Ukrainians) have suffered a lot and their people have suffered a lot, and after something like that it is difficult to even talk about concessions“, Rubio told reporters and added: “However, this is the only way to end this war to prevent new suffering.“
The US Secretary of State noted that “he will not renegotiate anything during the negotiations“. Rubio said that the US side will seek to find out what Kiev “is willing to do to achieve peace“ and end the war.
“That may be inconsistent with what the Russians are willing to do“, he said, adding: “That's what we need to know“.
Ukraine has long ruled out a ceasefire agreement that would include the surrender of Russian-occupied territory, including the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014. Instead, the Ukrainian government has called for a “just peace“ that would require the Kremlin to pay compensation for the three-year war, “Politico“ commented.
Rubio hinted that depending on the outcome of the upcoming negotiations, US aid to Ukraine could be resumed, adding that the United States “may have good news to report on that front“.
“All this happened because we felt that they were not committed to any kind of peace process or were not interested in negotiations“, he said, adding: “If that changes, then obviously our position could change too“.
Shortly before arriving in Saudi Arabia, the US Secretary of State described as promising the idea of a partial ceasefire that Ukraine could offer within the framework of the talks in Jeddah, the French newspaper notes. “Le Monde“.
“I'm not saying that this in itself will be enough, but it is the kind of concession that is necessary to end the conflict“, Rubio said.
A senior Ukrainian official, who asked not to be named, said yesterday that Kiev would offer Moscow a ceasefire by air and by sea because these are options for a ceasefire that are easy to implement and respect, and it is possible to start with them.
Rubio expressed hope that the issue of suspending US military aid to Kiev could also be resolved during the talks in Saudi Arabia, the French publication said.