US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that the dispute over Donbas remains the main obstacle to ending Russia’s war against Ukraine. Moscow seeks to gain control of the region but has been unable to achieve that goal through military force. Meanwhile, Ukraine is unwilling to give up its territory, as doing so would directly affect its sovereignty and long-term security.
Rubio made the remarks in an interview with India Today while answering a question about the prospects for peace negotiations and a possible trilateral meeting involving representatives of Ukraine, the United States, and Russia.
According to Rubio, US President Donald Trump is devoting considerable attention to finding ways to end the war. An American negotiating team is working continuously to bridge the differences between Kyiv and Moscow.
However, the Secretary of State believes that the territorial dispute lies at the heart of the conflict.
“People keep saying this is a war in Ukraine. This war is about Donbas. It’s about one region of the country,” Rubio emphasized.
He explained that Russia wants to seize the territory but has been unable to capture it by force. Ukraine, meanwhile, refuses to surrender it to Moscow.
“Russia wants it and cannot take it militarily, and Ukraine is not prepared to give it up. And they have good reasons not to want to do that — for their sovereignty and their own long-term security,” the Secretary of State explained.
Rubio believes these fundamental disagreements make reaching a peace agreement extremely difficult. At the same time, he is convinced that neither side can ultimately resolve the conflict on the battlefield.
“This war cannot be resolved militarily. This war will only end through diplomacy,” he stated.
The senior US official stressed that the central question now is whether a compromise can be reached that would allow both sides to gain something while also requiring mutual concessions.
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