US Secretary of State says Ukraine and Europe will be part of real peace talks

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that Ukraine and Europe will be part of any real negotiations to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

He said this in an interview with CBS.

The US diplomat responded to European concerns about their possible exclusion from the talks between the US and Russia, which are scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia in the coming days. Marco Rubio noted that the negotiation process has not yet begun in earnest, but if it moves forward, Ukraine and European countries will be included in the discussion.

He said that last week, President Trump had a conversation with Vladimir Putin, during which Putin expressed interest in achieving peace. Trump, for his part, expressed his desire to see a lasting peace that ensures Ukraine's sovereignty.

According to the US Secretary of State, concrete actions are needed to see how serious this desire for peace is.

«After all, one phone call will not bring peace», he said.

However, he declined to confirm whether he discussed lifting sanctions on Russia during his phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, but said they discussed the difficult conditions at the US Embassy in Moscow. Rubio added that properly functioning embassies in both countries are needed to make progress in the peacekeeping process.

Earlier it was reported that senior officials from the US and Russia will meet in Saudi Arabia next week to discuss the possibility of holding a summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin by the end of the month.

Peace talks

Earlier, Donald Trump stated that the United States is engaged in constructive negotiations to end a full-scale war with Ukraine and the Russian Federation. In particular, he expressed hope that agreements would be reached as soon as possible.

He also claimed that Washington had already made some progress in negotiations to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

In addition, Donald Trump indicated that his administration had already held discussions with Moscow, but did not specify who participated in such a dialogue. Also, during his phone conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump never said that Europe needs a seat at the table in negotiations on Ukraine.

Earlier, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that negotiations between the United States and Russia to end the war without Kyiv's participation pose a threat to everyone.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also noted that he was ready to sit down with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin for the sake of peace, despite his hostile attitude. He also added that he did not see a ready-made peace plan from Trump, but conveyed his readiness to negotiate.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was ready to «allocate people» to negotiate with Ukraine to end the war. At the same time, he called any such talks «illegitimate».