US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has acknowledged that Washington’s efforts to end the war in Ukraine have “reached a dead end.” At the same time, the US remains ready to act as a mediator if it can produce results. Rubio’s statement is quoted by The Guardian.
“We have played… tried to play the role of mediator in this issue, but so far it has not led to a fruitful outcome for various reasons. We remain ready to play that role if it can be productive. We do not want to waste our time and invest time and energy in efforts that do not move forward. But if we see an opportunity to act as a mediator that brings both sides closer to a peace agreement, we would like to see it,” Rubio said.
According to him, the US considers the continuation of the war a tragedy for which “both sides are paying a very high price, both economically and, obviously, on a human level.”
“We are ready to play any role we can to bring it to a peaceful diplomatic settlement. Unfortunately… these efforts have reached a dead end, but we are always ready if these circumstances change,” he added.
The day before, the head of the Ukrainian negotiating team, Rustem Umerov, arrived in the United States for talks with representatives of the White House. President Volodymyr Zelensky called these meetings “meaningful.” According to him, the American delegation should arrive in Kyiv at the turn of spring and summer.
At the same time, the Russian presidential aide for foreign policy, Yuri Ushakov, said that there is currently no point in holding a new round of trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States. According to him, for progress, Kyiv must withdraw troops from Donbas.
