US Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted that peace can only be achieved through negotiations if both sides make concessions.
Points of attention
- Peace between Ukraine and Russia can only be achieved through negotiations and concessions from both sides, as stated by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
- Progress has been made in preparing a peace agreement, but there is still much work to be done to bring the parties closer to an agreement.
- Rubio emphasizes the significance of understanding what both Ukraine and Russia can agree to and what they expect in return, in order to facilitate the negotiation process.
Rubio revealed the nuances of preparing a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia
Progress has been made in ending Russia's war against Ukraine, but much work remains to be done, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during a briefing.
I think we've made progress. But there's still a long way to go. Obviously, the hardest questions are always the last ones.
Marco Rubio
US Secretary of State
According to Rubio, wars tend to end in one of two ways: by one side surrendering to the other or by a negotiated settlement.
We do not see surrender in the near future from either side, and therefore only a negotiated settlement gives us the opportunity to end this war.
Rubio noted that peace can only be achieved through negotiations if both sides get something out of it and if they make concessions. According to him, the United States is trying to figure out what Ukraine and Russia can give, as well as what they expect to get in return.
What we're trying to understand is what Ukraine can agree to and what Russia can agree to, to determine the positions of both sides and see if we can somehow bring them closer together to some kind of agreement.
During the briefing, a journalist asked Rubio whether the US was ready to legally recognize the occupied Ukrainian territory as Russian. In response, the US Secretary of State stated that he could not talk about any specific details of a future peace agreement.
We can't negotiate a peace agreement, especially one like this, in the media... Let me just say this: there can be no peace agreement if Ukraine doesn't agree to it. And there can't be a peace agreement, of course, if Russia doesn't agree. But remember, any peace agreement is one that Ukraine has to agree to because they are a party to the fighting. If Ukraine says, we don't agree to this, there will be no peace.
According to the US Secretary of State, Washington is not going to impose an agreement on Ukraine or Russia. He stated that the US wants to understand whether both sides of the war can reach an agreement.
This is taking a long time. We'll have to be patient with this. Unfortunately, it's already been taking longer than that.
