US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has indicated that Ukraine will have to let go of its goal of reclaiming former territories to begin peace talks with Russia.
He made these remarks on Monday, ahead of a meeting between US and Ukrainian delegations set to begin in Saudi Arabia later on Tuesday.
Several US officials, have earlier outlined Washington’s expectations and warned Kiev against making maximalist territorial demands.
“It’ll be very difficult for Ukraine in any reasonable period to sort of force the Russians back to where they were in 2014,” Rubio said, reports claimed.
“The most important thing that we have to leave here with is a strong sense that Ukraine is prepared to do difficult things, just as the Russians are going to have to do difficult things to end this conflict—or at least pause it in some way, shape, or form,” he added.
“I think both sides need to come to an understanding that there’s no military solution to this problem.”
Earlier in 2014, Crimea voted to secede from Ukraine and join Russia following a Western-backed armed coup in Kiev.
After the conflict escalated in 2022, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, along with the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, held referendums to join Russia. Moscow now recognises them as its territory.
Kiev claims sovereignty over all former Ukrainian territory, calling the voting held in 2014 “a sham” and not genuine expressions of self-determination by disenfranchised citizens.
Though Moscow has made it clear that they are not willing to negotiate on the territories formerly held by Ukraine.
According to reports, Ukraine is seeking a partial ceasefire with Russia, while Russia has rejected the possibility of freezing the conflict temporarily.
Moscow is of the view that Ukraine, under the pretext of a temporary ceasefire, is trying to fortify its positions and also rearm its forces.
The move is reportedly aimed at persuading the US to reverse its decision to freeze intelligence sharing and weapons deliveries.
