An opportunity to resume negotiations between Ukraine and Russia and develop a roadmap toward an agreement acceptable to both sides may emerge within the next few weeks, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
According to Rubio, meetings involving the US president’s special envoys, held in Kyiv and Moscow last weekend, were substantive. The parties discussed new proposals that, for the first time, appeared to receive a certain degree of openness from both sides.
At the same time, Rubio cautioned against drawing premature conclusions, as Ukraine and Russia still have clear “red lines” and have shown no willingness to make significant concessions.
“I don’t want to be overly optimistic, but I’m not pessimistic either. It seems to me that over the next few weeks, there is an opportunity to develop a roadmap for resuming negotiations and possibly reaching an agreement acceptable to both sides,” the US secretary of state said.
According to him, the main outcome of the meetings was the resumption of engagement after several months with virtually no progress. The United States remains ready to act as a mediator, but any future agreement to end the war must be supported by both Kyiv and Moscow.
Rubio emphasized that much work remains to be done. However, the emergence of concrete ideas and the parties’ willingness to consider them have created a basis for further diplomatic efforts.
