Ukraine will have to make territorial concessions as part of some agreement to end the war with Russia, The New York Times reports, citing a statement from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rubio delivered a speech before heading to Jeddah, where negotiations between the Ukrainian and American delegations will take place on March 11. As previously reported, he stated that this meeting would be “crucial” for the resumption of U.S. military aid to Kyiv. According to him, if the U.S. is satisfied with the negotiations, aid will resume.
According to the Secretary of State, the key outcome of the negotiations for the U.S. will be “a firm sense that Ukraine is ready to make difficult decisions.” Rubio noted that Russia will also have to make “difficult decisions” in order to end the war or at least “pause” it “in one form or another.” According to NYT, the diplomat refused to propose a potential peace plan but made it clear that concessions from both sides would be decisive for diplomacy.
“I think both sides need to come to the understanding that there is no military solution to this situation. The Russians cannot conquer all of Ukraine, and it is obvious that Ukraine will find it very difficult, within any reasonable timeframe, to force the Russians to return to their 2014 positions,” the U.S. Secretary of State added.
During future negotiations with Moscow, Rubio noted, Washington will also have to determine what concessions Russia is willing to make. “We don’t know how far apart they [Ukraine and Russia] actually are,” he said.
Additionally, Rubio called Ukraine’s proposal for a partial ceasefire, previously reported by Financial Times, “promising.” “I’m not saying that this alone is enough, but it is a concession that must be seen to end the conflict,” the Secretary of State said.
The U.S. and Ukrainian delegations will meet in Jeddah on March 11. According to Financial Times, Kyiv’s representatives at the meeting will propose a partial ceasefire plan. Washington’s representatives, Reuters reported, plan to assess whether Kyiv is ready to make territorial concessions to end the war.
U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a halt to military aid to Kyiv shortly after a meeting at the White House with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which ended in an argument.
Since early March, the Trump administration has stopped arms supplies and intelligence sharing with Ukraine in an effort, according to media reports, to force Kyiv to come to the negotiating table. Amid this, Russia has announced that it has recaptured several settlements in the Kursk region, which were previously under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
NBC News reported that in exchange for the resumption of military aid to Kyiv, Trump would like to see Zelensky’s willingness to make concessions, including handing over the occupied territories of Ukraine to Russia.
