US 'does not want to waste time' on fruitless efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine - Rubio
Photo: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (Getty Images)
The US is ready to act as a mediator in peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, but does not want to waste time if its efforts fail to produce results, states US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
"We've tried to play a mediator role in that. So far, it has not led to a fruitful outcome for a variety of reasons. We remain prepared to play that role if it can be productive," Marco Rubio said.
According to him, the US does not want to "waste its time and invest time and energy in an effort that's not moving forward."
"But if we see an opportunity to act as a mediator that brings both sides closer to a peace deal, we would like to see that. Our position at the end of the day is that this war is a tragedy," the US secretary of state added.
Peace talks
Three rounds of talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the US on ending the war have already taken place.
A new round of trilateral negotiations was expected to take place in early March, but it was postponed after the US launched an operation against Iran.
Recently, aide to the Russian President Yuri Ushakov called further peace talks with Ukraine and the US in a trilateral format "inappropriate."
According to him, negotiations are unnecessary until Ukraine withdraws its troops from Donbas.
Ushakov believes that dialogue on ending the war is currently "a waste of time."
At the same time, Ukraine’s Presidential Office responded to these statements, saying that the Kremlin does not actually plan to stop hostilities even if it gains control over Donbas, and that such ultimatums only expose Russia’s true expansionist ambitions.
Meanwhile, Ukraine expects representatives of US President Donald Trump to visit Kyiv around the turn of spring and summer.
