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Ukraine needs to abandon its territory to Russia as part of a ceasefire agreement, a top US diplomat said on the eve of a meeting between Washington and Kiev in Saudi Arabia.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told journalists on his way to high-level consultations in Jeddah:
Eight years before Moscow began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Rubio’s comments hinting at Ukrainian borders before Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 highlight the Trump administration’s stance far more harsh than Joe Biden’s government.
Tuesday’s talks in Saudi Arabia come at a pivotal moment about the future of American aid, as Washington seeks to end the conflict, about ten days after public spews in the White House between Ukrainian President Donald Trump, about the origins of Russia’s full-scale invasion and the future of Washington’s aid.
Trump then blocked Kiev from sharing military aid and intelligence news, but Zelensky gave several overtures to the White House last week. Rubio spoke with reporters on a flight to Saudi Arabia on Monday and said he hopes military aid will recover.
“The concept of aid pause is broad and I hope we can solve it. Clearly what happens tomorrow will be the key to that,” Rubio said.
Officials who explained preparations for negotiations in Saudi Arabia said Kyiv is planning to propose a partial ceasefire with Russia for long-range drone and missile strikes and missile strikes in the Black Sea and combat operations.
Trump has faced domestic and international criticism for putting too much pressure on Ukraine to make concessions and giving Russia the advantages of a peace deal that Washington operates on a parallel trajectory. Russian and Ukrainian officials have not started directly negotiations.
Trump threatened Russia with additional sanctions and tariffs last week, but he has been publicly critical of Zelensky, including calling for an election in Ukraine that could lead to his ouster. Speaking to Air Force 1 reporters on Sunday when he returned to Washington from Florida, he continued to put pressure on Kiev.
“I want them to want peace, right?” the US president said.
“Well, now they haven’t shown it to the extent they should have been. I don’t think so now, but I think it will happen. And I think it will become clear in the next two or three days,” he said.
Earlier on Monday, British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer told Trump he wanted to see “positive” talks between top US and Ukrainian officials to pave the way for the reopening of military aid in Washington and the reopening of intelligence news sharing with Kiev.
“The Prime Minister said he hoped there would be positive results in talks to allow US aid and sharing of intelligence news to resume,” a Downing Street spokesman said Monday. The White House has not announced a conversation account.
The priorities have positioned themselves as one of Europe’s key players in the conflict, and together with French President Emmanuel Macron, they have brought together a coalition of European powers willing to deploy their troops to Ukraine to smooth out Zelensky’s relationship with Trump and ensure peace.
A Downing Street spokesperson told Trump that the Prime Minister assured Trump that British authorities spoke with representatives of Ukraine over the weekend and that they “continuing to commit to lasting peace.”
On Saturday, Priority will hold a virtual meeting of groups of primarily European and federal countries who are willing to help secure a peace agreement between Kiev and Moscow.
