It doesn't depend on us: Rubio says the US cannot guarantee a quick peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia
Kyiv • UNN
The US Secretary of State stated that the terms of the peace agreement depend on Russia, Ukraine, and Europe. The US strives for peace, but cannot set a time frame due to the positions of the parties.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the U.S. cannot guarantee a peace agreement in a week or a month, as it depends on Russia and Ukraine, as well as European countries. He said this during a press conference, UNN reports.
They (the Russians - ed.) are talking to us. They are making proposals. They agree to a ceasefire, but on terms that we must analyze. I have said almost from the very beginning that this war is complex. As you can see, it has been going on for three years now. And I never said it would be easy. There is a lot of work ahead with both sides, including the Russian side, with whom we have not spoken for years
He noted that the United States is trying to end the war.
We will strive for peace for as long as it takes. That doesn't mean I can guarantee you that a deal will be reached in a week or a month. I just can't set a time frame because it's not up to us. It depends on the Russians and it depends on the Ukrainians. It also depends on our partners in Europe who have sanctions that I believe should be taken into account as part of any final agreement
According to him, more progress needs to be made at the technical level at this stage.
I want to sit down and talk to our team that was on the ground and better understand how these negotiations went, because a lot of it is not just what was written and said in 12 hours. And, by the way, we met with the Ukrainians twice as well, so we want to get the same perspective we had with them on Sunday and again on Tuesday, and with the Russians on Monday. So I need to hear from them directly a little more about how things went, and then we will present it. We will meet with the team and present it to the president, and then decide what our next steps will be
Recall
The White House is seeking to reach a ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine by Easter, April 20, but the United States acknowledges that these deadlines may be missed, given the large differences between the positions of the two sides.