Reaching a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia will require both sides to be ready for mutual concessions, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
He made the statement in an interview with CBS on Sunday, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.
Rubio agreed with the interviewer’s remark that the “root cause” of the war was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Well, ultimately, yeah,” he said, adding that the focus now should be on steps that would lead to a ceasefire.
“And what it’s going to take to stop the fighting, if we’re being honest and serious here, is both sides are going to have to give, and both sides should expect to get something from this. And that’s a very difficult thing to do,” Rubio said.
He stressed that Moscow is convinced of its battlefield advantage and does not “care very much about how many Russian soldiers die in this endeavor.”
According to Rubio, President Donald Trump is devoting significant attention to finding a path to peace.
“He’s dedicated a lot of time and energy because he has made it a priority of his administration to stop wars or prevent them. And right now, this is the biggest war going on in the world,” Rubio said.
Asked whether the United States had agreed to Putin’s conditions on transferring the Donetsk region to Russian control, introducing the Russian language in Ukraine, and allowing the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church, Rubio stressed that Washington cannot make such decisions for Ukraine.
“It’s up to the Ukrainians to make these conditions. […] There’s no conditions that can be imposed on Ukraine. They’re going to have to accept things, but they’re going to have to get things too,” he said.
Rubio acknowledged that the issue of territory would inevitably be part of the negotiations.
When asked whether the U.S. would demand the withdrawal of some forces (the interviewer apparently referring to Ukrainian troops), he replied: ” Well, again, in order to have a deal here to reach the end of this conflict, both sides are going to have to make concessions. That’s just the facts. […] If there aren’t concessions, if one side gets everything they want, that’s called surrender. That’s called the end of the war through surrender. And that’s not what we’re close to doing, because neither side here is on the verge of surrender or anything close to it.”
He also added that Ukraine, as a sovereign state, has the right to enter into security alliances with other countries to protect itself from future threats.
“They have a right, like every sovereign country does in the world, to enter into security alliances with other countries to prevent an invasion in the future, to prevent threats to their national security,” Rubio said.
On August 18, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and several European leaders will arrive in Washington for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on next steps following his meeting with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
Source: No terms can be imposed on Ukraine, but both sides must make concessions for peace – Rubio
