US sees progress in Ukraine peace talks, but Rubio warns hardest issues remain

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the United States has “made good progress” in Ukraine talks but warned that they have “ways to go” with “hardest issues”.

The Guardian reported this, as cited by Ukrinform.

Rubio noted that the US administration has invested “a tremendous amount of time and energy” in ending the war and is “trying to figure out what can Ukraine live with and what can Russia live with.”

“[We want to] sort of identify what both sides positions are and see if we can sort of drive them towards each other to some agreement. A negotiated settlement requires two things, both sides to get something out of it, and both sides to give something,” the US Secretary of State said.

“And we’re trying to figure out, what can Russia give and what do they expect to get? What can Ukraine give and what can Ukraine expect to get? In the end, the decision will be up to Ukraine, and up to Russia will not be up to the United States,” he added.

Rubio emphasized that the goal is not to impose an agreement on anyone but to try to find where interests can “overlap.”

“I think we’ve made progress, but we have ways to go, and obviously the hardest issues are always the last issues,” he said.

According to Ukrinform, on December 19, the Ukrainian delegation led by Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov will hold another round of talks in the United States.

Photo: Official State Department