Donald Trump is the 'only leader' who can bring about peace between Russia and Ukraine, said his State Secretary Marco Rubio after conversations in Saudi Arabia.
The US started the conversations with Russian officials where they were able to achieve four sketch principles, but whether a complete deal can materialize can still be seen in the midst of questions about the involvement of Ukraine in the negotiation process.
Rubio, American national security adviser Mike Waltz and special envoy Steve Witkoff met the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Putin Aide Yuri Ushakov in Riyad on Tuesday.
It was the first round of conversations, because the US exerted a peace agreement for the war that has been furious since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
The conversations came after Trump spoke with Putin last week when the US leaves Russia's isolation, but Ukrainian representatives were not present for the sit-down in the Middle East.
Rubio said the US and Russians were over about four principles during their meeting, while they start the first steps to reach a deal.
First he said that the US and Moscow will work to restore their 'missions' in both countries so that they can continue with diplomatic relations.
Secondly, the State Secretary said that the US will point out a high -level team to help negotiate, and third, they will start discussing geopolitical and economic cooperation that can help solve conflict.
Fourth, he said that the five people involved in the first meeting remain involved, so they know that it will continue in a productive way.
State Secretary Marco Rubio (Center), National Security Advisor Mike Waltz (Right) and the American Middle -East -Enter Steve Witkoff (Left) Meeting with Senior Russian officials in Riyad, Saudi -Arabia on February 18
Rubio said they would not have negotiation and that it would be 'hard and difficult diplomacy' for a certain period, but he claimed that only Trump could facilitate the war.
“The only leader in the world who can make this happen, who can even bring people together to start talking about it in a serious way, is President Trump,” said the State Secretary.
Rubio also said that “to have the conflict ended, anyone involved in that conflict should be good with it.”
He noted that it was more than three years ago that there was any 'regularized' contact between the US and Russia.
Waltz said they discussed that it should be a permanent end to the war and not a temporary break.
He said there will be a discussion about territory and security guarantees that underlie conversations they have.
However, Waltz would not say whether the US would agree that Russia would retain some Ukrainian territory that it had annexed since it invaded three years ago, just that it had to be discussed.
“What the president did not find acceptable was an endless war in Europe that literally turned into a flesh mill of people on both sides,” said Waltz.
An image of the high American officials that the Russian presidential assistant Yury Ushakov (second from the right) and the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (far right) (far right) (far right)
It comes less than a week after Trump and Putin spoke by telephone. The president also spoke by telephone with Zensky, he revealed.
Zensky indicated that Ukraine could see the war end, but he has insisted on security guarantees as part of the peace process with the US and other European leaders at the table.
The Ukrainian president responded on Tuesday to the conversations between the US and Russia from Ankara, Turkey, where he meets Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
He said that Ukraine will not 'admit to the Russian Ultimatums' while he returned to the US and Russians who hold one-on-one conversations, because Erdogan said his country would be an 'ideal host' for conversations between Ukraine, Russia and The US in the future.
“I wonder why they believe that Ukraine would now accept all these ultimatums if we would refuse them at the most difficult moment,” said the Ukrainian president, referring to Kyiv's refusal to bow to Moscow's demands during crisis talks to it Start of the war.
“As President of Ukraine, I have never given anyone guarantees or confirmed anything. Moreover, I never intend to accept the Ultimatums of Russia. And I'm not going to do, “said Zensky.
Zensky also revealed that he was canceling, his own planned visit to Saudi Arabia.
On Monday, Zensky confirmed that Ukraine and European leaders were not invited to the conversations in Saudi Aarabia and said that Ukraine cannot recognize a peace agreement without its participation.
Ukrainian President VolodyMyr Zelensky with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on February 18
European leaders who meet on 17 February in the Elysee Palace in Paris
Although they were not at the table in Riyadh, other European leaders also had conversations about a peace agreement.
On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron met other European leaders in Paris, where they tackle the war in Ukraine. The meeting took place after Macron spoke with Trump. He also had a phone call with Zensky.
Macron said that the leaders want a “strong and lasting peace in Ukraine.”
“To achieve this, Russia has to put an end to his aggression, and this must be accompanied by strong and credible security guarantees for the Ukrainians,” Macron said in a statement.
He indicated that Europeans, Americans and Ukrainians would all work on it and that European countries would invest more in their safety and defense.
