Ukraine and US coordinate peace efforts: Ukraine's Foreign Minister meets with Rubio and Graham
Photo: Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Senator Lindsey Graham (twitter.com/andrii\_sybiha)
Ukraine and the United States coordinate the next steps ahead of the Istanbul talks, in case Russia disrupts the peace process, according to a post by Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on the social media platform X.
On May 14, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha held a meeting in Antalya, Türkiye, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Senator Lindsey Graham.
The purpose of the dialogue was to share perspectives on the next steps in the peace efforts with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and "coordinate positions during this critical week."
Sybiha stated that during the meeting, the sides "discussed in detail the logic of further steps and shared our approaches."
The Foreign Minister confirmed Ukraine's strong and consistent commitment to the peace efforts of President Trump and "thanked the United States for its involvement."
"We are ready to advance our cooperation in a constructive and mutually beneficial manner. It is critical that Russia reciprocate Ukraine's constructive steps. So far, it has not. Moscow must understand that rejecting peace comes at a cost," Sybiha emphasized.
Photo: Andrii Sybiha meets with US counterparts in Antalya (twitter.com/andrii_sybiha)
Sybiha's visit to Türkiye
On Wednesday, May 14, an informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers began in Antalya, chaired by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha arrived in Antalya for talks with Ukraine's partners. He plans to discuss achieving a just peace in Ukraine with Western counterparts.
As part of the visit, Sybiha has already discussed positions ahead of the upcoming Ukraine-Russia negotiations in Istanbul with his Turkish counterpart, Fidan.
Talks in Istanbul
The peace talks in Istanbul were proposed for May 15 by Vladimir Putin after he rejected a 30-day ceasefire demanded by Kyiv and its European partners from the "Coalition of the Willing."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed to take part in the talks in support of US President Donald Trump's peace initiative.
However, Putin himself will not attend and has instead sent a delegation.
According to media reports, Trump also does not plan to take part in the new Istanbul negotiations. The US will be represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
