His comments came as the US facilitated two rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine earlier this month. The trilateral meeting, however, was not able to yield any breakthrough except a prisoner swap that released many people from both sides
US State Secretary Marco Rubio on Saturday said that Washington does not know whether Russia is serious about reaching a deal with Ukraine to end the four-year-long war, despite President Donald Trump pushing for a peace deal.
“We don’t know if the Russians are serious about ending the war,” he told the Munich Security Conference.
His comments came as the US facilitated two rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine earlier this month. The trilateral meeting, however, was not able to yield any breakthrough except a prisoner swap that released many people from both sides.
Trump asks Zelenskyy to ‘get moving’
Meanwhile, Trump has called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to make a deal to end Russia’s invasion, saying that Moscow wanted to make a deal.
“Zelenskyy’s going to have to get moving,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “Russia wants to make a deal, and Zelensky’s going to have to get moving; he’s going to miss a great opportunity. He has to move.”
At the same time, Nato’s US envoy Matthew Whitaker told an audience at the Munich Security Conference that Russia may never be ready to make a deal to end the war in Ukraine.
The “Ukrainians, I think, are willing to make a deal right now that’s reasonable, that under the circumstances would be fair,” Ambassador Matthew Whitaker told a panel at the Munich Security Conference.
“But I just am not convinced that ultimately the Russians are ready to make a deal, or ever will be able to make a deal,” he added.
Ukraine and Russia to hold talks in Geneva
Ukraine and Russia will hold another round of talks next week in Geneva as the two sides try to get on the same page about territorial concessions.
Dmitry Peskov said Friday that a new round of three-way negotiations will take place on February 17–18, according to Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti. The upcoming meeting follows two previous sessions held in Abu Dhabi.
Moscow is seeking the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the remaining portion of the eastern Donetsk region in the Donbas still under Kyiv’s control. Ukrainian officials have dismissed the idea of pulling back without reciprocal steps and are calling for firm Western security commitments to prevent Russia from resuming its assault if a ceasefire is agreed.
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