Rubio refused to discuss NATO conditions for Ukraine before negotiations

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio refused to discuss specific NATO conditions for Ukraine within the framework of peace negotiations, stating that the U.S. wants to hear the positions of both sides for their assessment. He said this to reporters on the way to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, where a meeting of the U.S. delegation with the Ukrainian delegation is scheduled for March 11, reports UNN.

Details

"I am not going to discuss conditions in advance," Rubio replied to the question, "other than territory, whether Ukrainians need to accept restrictions or limits on their capabilities and give up joining NATO for there to be a settlement." "During this visit, we are listening more than we are talking. We will be ... our proposals and our encouragement. But what we want to know is: are they interested in entering into some peace conversation and general outlines of those things they might consider, recognizing that this has been a long and bloody war for the Ukrainians? They have suffered greatly, and their people have suffered greatly, and after something like this, it is hard to even talk about concessions. But this is the only way to end this, to prevent further suffering," the U.S. Secretary of State indicated.

"But I am not going to set any conditions on what they have or should do. I think we want to listen to how far they are willing to go and compare that to what the Russians want, and then see how far apart we actually are," Rubio noted.

He believes that "both sides need to come to an understanding that there is no military solution to this situation." "The Russians cannot conquer all of Ukraine, and obviously, it will be very difficult for Ukraine to somehow force the Russians back to where they were in 2014 in any reasonable timeframe." "So the only solution to this war is diplomacy and getting them to the table where possible," Rubio remarked.

"I believe that the French and the British have been very supportive of this process over the last week and have been very helpful, so we hope that tomorrow (March 11 - ed.) we will have good meetings," he noted.

Supplement

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that there will be four representatives from Ukraine in the negotiations with the U.S. in Saudi Arabia. The Ukrainian team will consist of Andriy Yermak, Andriy Sibiga, Rustem Umerov, and Pavlo Palisa.

According to the President, Ukraine will have a clear focus on constructive dialogue, and "we hope to discuss and agree on the necessary decisions and steps."

The U.S. delegation will be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Before the negotiations, Rubio stated that during the negotiations in Saudi Arabia, America wants to hear from Ukraine what concessions it can make for the sake of peace.