Rubio says Ukraine's security guarantees must be acceptable to Russia
Photo: Marco Rubio (Getty Images)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Ukraine must feel safe after the war. However, the country will receive security guarantees only if Russia agrees, or the mechanism won't work, according to DRM News.
During Rubio's exchange with the press, one journalist noted that US President Donald Trump and other US officials had repeatedly outlined the proposals they planned to bring to the negotiating table in Abu Dhabi.
In particular, they had already mentioned security guarantees or a security framework in Europe. Against this backdrop, the reporter asked whether the possibility of providing Ukraine with US security guarantees modeled on Articles 4 and 5 of the NATO treaty was being considered.
"Well, all of those things are, I mean, I don't think we've settled on a final concrete plan on that. I think concepts have been discussed about what security guarantees could look like post conflict," Rubio replied.
He added that the reason the issue continues to make headlines is that it will be crucial to reaching a final end to the war. However, according to the secretary of state, any such guarantees would have to be acceptable to Russia as well.
"I think it'll be key to ultimately being able to end the war is an understanding that Ukraine will feel secure after the war. And obviously it has to be something that Russia agrees to as well in order for it to work. The truth of the matter is those security guarantees are going to be key in order for Ukraine to be able to agree to something, but it has to be something Russia agrees to as well," the secretary of state stressed.
Rubio was also asked whether this meant the US could formalize such guarantees in a treaty. He replied: "Potentially."
"I don't know if we've discussed it at that level of detail yet. And as you know, treaties aren't necessarily the easiest things to pass anymore," he concluded.
Peace talks
As a reminder, trilateral talks between Ukraine and Russia, mediated by the United States, are scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11. They will be the first such talks since February.
A day earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that security guarantees were a key issue and would be discussed in Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile, according to The New York Times, a ceasefire is not expected to be on the agenda.
We also reported that David Arakhamia, head of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction, said Ukraine was not expecting a breakthrough during the first round of talks. However, there are hopes for progress at the second meeting.
