Witkoff, Kushner will not take part in next round of talks in UAE – Rubio
He made the remarks during a hearing before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.
"The one remaining item […] is a territorial claim on Donetsk [region]. There is active work going to try to see if both sides' views on that can be reconciled," he said.
Answering senators' questions about the talks, Rubio said: "It's still a bridge we haven't crossed. It's still a gap, but at least we've been able to narrow down the issues set to one central one. It will probably be a difficult one."
According to Rubio, negotiations will continue this week, either in bilateral or trilateral formats, with U.S. participation. "But it won't still be Steve and Jared [special envoy Steve Witkoff and the U.S. president's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who took part in the previous round of talks]. And we continue to try to move that forward," he added.
Rubio also noted that security guarantees for Ukraine have been agreed upon between Washington and Kyiv, while pointing to the Russian factor.
"I think they are agreed to from our side of the equation. There is obviously a Russian dynamic at play here. And, of course, any security guarantees would come into play after the conflict," Rubio concluded.
As reported, the next round of trilateral talks involving the United States, Ukraine, and Russia is scheduled for February 1 in Abu Dhabi.
Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine
