U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that peace in Ukraine will require "new ideas" to break the deadlock in negotiations, reports The Guardian, writes UNN.
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Rubio indicated that reaching an agreement to end the war in Ukraine will require "new ideas," as the proposals put forward so far "were unacceptable to Ukraine at the time, and I don't think they will be acceptable to them; in fact, probably less acceptable to them."
If, when peace comes, it’ll be because of some new idea and some new concepts, and we’re prepared to offer some of those in the right setting and form if the opportunity presents itself and the conditions are right. We’re prepared to play that role in a positive way
The U.S. "will continue to seek a compromise position" to end the war in Ukraine, Rubio noted after a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and participation in the ASEAN summit earlier today.
He says he had "a good, frank conversation" on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which is "a very bloody war," with the Russians now "suffering strikes deep in their territory; something you did not see at the end of the year."
And "the winter’s still going to hit Ukraine, and they’re you know obviously going to have to defend their airspace."
He continued: "Ukraine’s played a tremendous price as well. We’ve seen you know civilian deaths, strikes in Kyiv. … This war has not been good for Ukraine either. So I think both sides should have an incentive to bring it to an end."
"That’s been the challenge: [finding] an end that both sides can accept. And we’ve tried, and we’ll continue to try to see if we can find a middle ground that brings this about, and we’re prepared to play that role if the opportunity presents itself. We express that today, and we’ve expressed it in the past," Rubio indicated.
Rubio noted that U.S. President Donald Trump believes that "this is a stupid war," and the U.S. is "ready to act" when a chance to reach an agreement on Ukraine appears.
Rubio was also asked about the Russian report on his meeting with Lavrov and the proposal that the U.S. should not sell weapons to Ukraine. The Russian Foreign Ministry stated after the talks that Russia warned the United States against making "unacceptable" arms deliveries to Ukraine.
He did not acknowledge these statements and said that no changes in U.S. policy had occurred, the publication writes.
At the same time, he added: "We want a peace deal. We want the war to end. We’re prepared to play whatever positive role we can to end the war, and that in order to end this war will require something that both Russia and Ukraine can agree to.
That’s not going to happen at a press conference. That’s not going to happen in one meeting here in the Philippines. That’s going to require a lot of work.
We invested in the past in it. It was unsuccessful, at least unfruitful at the time. If conditions and factors have changed to make that possible, we’re ready to go.
The president’s committed to that, and every single day, if we identify an opportunity to make a difference in that, we will.
Because in the end, what the president … here’s what he most cares about: that people stop dying, that people stop being slaughtered, that Ukraine no longer can go on and live in peace, and Ukrainians can move back to their country and rebuild it. That young Russians aren’t being killed at the tune of 5,000 a week in the battlefield.
He thinks it’s a stupid war. He thinks it’s a senseless war. And if we can play a role in bringing it to an end, we’re going to use the power and influence of the United States to do so. And we’re prepared to do that if the opportunity presents itself. And I hope it does. And that’s what we’ve communicated consistently to both sides."
Rubio and Lavrov held a meeting, discussed Russia's war in Ukraine23.07.26, 08:59