The US will be in contact with the Russians today and hopes for a positive response from the Russian Federation - Rubio

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the U.S. "will be contacting the Russians" today, UNN writes, citing The Guardian.

Details

He said the U.S. hopes to get a positive response from Russia, and "strongly urges the Russians to cease all military action".

"There is no military solution to this conflict," he said.

Rubio also confirmed that Tuesday's talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, concerned "what a negotiation process would look like" and included "talk of territorial concessions".

In his comments, he also added that Ukraine needs sufficient means to deter future attacks.

And he also said that Europeans "need to be involved in this," Reuters reports.

On a less positive note, he said he "would not consider a mineral deal as a security guarantee," but AFP added that he said it would give the U.S. "a vested interest" in Ukraine's security.

Addition

Ukraine and the United States held talks in Jeddah on March 11, following which they issued a joint statement, in which "Ukraine expressed its readiness to accept the US proposal for the immediate introduction of a temporary, 30-day ceasefire regime, which may be extended by mutual agreement of the parties, subject to acceptance and simultaneous implementation by the Russian Federation".

According to the statement, the United States will inform the Russian Federation that reciprocity on the part of Russia is key to achieving peace.