Trump's team states Ukraine must cede territories to Russia as part of peace agreement

"The most important thing that we have to leave here (the negotiations in Saudi Arabia - ed.) with is a strong sense that Ukraine is prepared to do difficult things, like the Russians are going to have to do difficult things to end this conflict or at least pause it in some way, shape or form," Rubio said.

While speaking with journalists, Rubio declined to propose a plan for a potential agreement but made it clear that concessions from both sides would play a central role in diplomacy.

"I think both sides need to come to an understanding that there’s no military solution to this situation. The Russians can’t conquer all of Ukraine, and obviously it’ll be very difficult for Ukraine in any reasonable time period to sort of force the Russians back all the way to where they were in 2014," the secretary of state stated.

He added that in future negotiations with Moscow, it is crucial to determine what Russia is willing to concede.

According to him, during the meeting in Saudi Arabia, he and Ukrainian officials will likely discuss the restoration of military aid to Ukraine. The US stance on this may change if the US is convinced that Ukraine is serious about peace.

"I can assure you this, we will not be providing military aid to the Russians," Rubio said.

Negotiations in Saudi Arabia

On Tuesday, March 11, negotiations are set to take place in Saudi Arabia between Ukrainian and US delegations. Today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Saudi Arabia, but he will not be participating in the talks.

It is currently known that the US delegation will include US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Special Representative for Middle East Affairs Steve Vitkoff, and US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.

The Ukrainian delegation will include the head of the President’s Office of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, and Ukraine’s Minister of Defense, Rustem Umerov.