Ukraine war must end in a way that protects its future - Rubio
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (Photo: Getty Images)
The US is trying to determine whether it’s possible to end the war in a way that protects Ukraine’s future and remains acceptable to both sides, states US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
According to Rubio, Washington has made some progress, but has not yet reached the goal.
The secretary of state stressed that in Russia, all key decisions are made solely by Vladimir Putin, not by his advisers.
“Only Putin can end this war on the Russian side. So, I think we're going to explore,” Rubio said.
He noted that for the past ten months, the US has been trying to bring both sides - Ukraine and Russia -together and develop proposals that could be acceptable to both.
“We'll do everything we can to make it work. That's what we've been doing for 10 months. I think we made progress; we've got closer. But we've still not there; we are still not close enough,” Rubio added.
What Putin and Witkoff discussed at the Kremlin
On December 2, talks took place at the Kremlin between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff. They discussed the US peace plan for Ukraine.
According to Putin’s advisor Yuri Ushakov, the conversation focused on the essence of Trump’s plan, not on specific proposals.
He added that no compromises have been reached so far, and a meeting between the Russian and US leaders is not planned at this time.
When asked whether the prospects for peace had changed after the talks, Ushakov shrugged and said: “They certainly haven’t receded.”
Talks between the US and Ukraine
Before that, extensive negotiations took place between US and Ukrainian representatives, first in Geneva and later in Florida.
The talks involved US special envoy Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Jared Kushner (Trump’s son-in-law). Representing Ukraine were Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov, Deputy Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate Vadym Skibitsky, and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Andriy Hnatov.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had visited Paris the day before and met with Emmanuel Macron, said that the latest version of the peace plan looks better.
