Rubio Claims Ukraine Must Cede Land
US State Secretary Marco Rubio has suggested that for any peace agreement with Moscow, Kiev must give up its territorial claims. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
Moscow has long insisted that any potential peace deal should recognize the “realities on the ground.”
To facilitate peace negotiations with Russia, Ukraine will need to abandon its aim of reclaiming former territories, according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He made these comments on Monday, just ahead of a meeting between US and Ukrainian delegations scheduled for Tuesday in Saudi Arabia. Several US officials, who requested anonymity, previously outlined Washington's expectations and cautioned Kiev against pursuing maximalist territorial claims.
“Obviously, it’ll be very difficult for Ukraine in any reasonable time period to sort of force the Russians back all the way to where they were in 2014,” Rubio stated, as reported by The New York Times.
“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 continued. “I think both sides need to come to an understanding that there’s no military solution to this situation.”
Kiev retains its claim over former Ukrainian territories annexed by Russia since 2014, including Crimea, the Donetsk and Lugansk Peoples Republics, and the Kherson and Zaporozhia regions, dismissing the legitimacy of the referendums held in these areas. Moscow maintains that the status of these regions is non-negotiable.
Since the 2014 Western-backed coup in the Ukrainian capital, over 14,000 people have died due to Kiev's military actions against Ukraine's substantial ethnic Russian population, despite several ceasefire agreements, known as ‘Minsk’ accords, supported by Germany and France.
Both former Ukrainian president Pyotr Poroshenko and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel have since acknowledged that these agreements were primarily exploited to allow Ukraine to regroup and rearm its military for ongoing conflict.
On Sunday, The Financial Times reported that Ukraine aims to propose a partial ceasefire covering long-range drone and missile strikes, as well as operations in the Black Sea, during the upcoming Saudi talks. This proposal is reportedly intended to encourage the US to resume intelligence sharing and weapons deliveries.
Russia, however, has consistently stated that it will not accept a temporary ceasefire, insisting that the conflict must be resolved through legally binding agreements that address its root causes.
Debra A Smith for TROIB News
To facilitate peace negotiations with Russia, Ukraine will need to abandon its aim of reclaiming former territories, according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He made these comments on Monday, just ahead of a meeting between US and Ukrainian delegations scheduled for Tuesday in Saudi Arabia. Several US officials, who requested anonymity, previously outlined Washington's expectations and cautioned Kiev against pursuing maximalist territorial claims.
“Obviously, it’ll be very difficult for Ukraine in any reasonable time period to sort of force the Russians back all the way to where they were in 2014,” Rubio stated, as reported by The New York Times.
“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 continued. “I think both sides need to come to an understanding that there’s no military solution to this situation.”
Kiev retains its claim over former Ukrainian territories annexed by Russia since 2014, including Crimea, the Donetsk and Lugansk Peoples Republics, and the Kherson and Zaporozhia regions, dismissing the legitimacy of the referendums held in these areas. Moscow maintains that the status of these regions is non-negotiable.
Since the 2014 Western-backed coup in the Ukrainian capital, over 14,000 people have died due to Kiev's military actions against Ukraine's substantial ethnic Russian population, despite several ceasefire agreements, known as ‘Minsk’ accords, supported by Germany and France.
Both former Ukrainian president Pyotr Poroshenko and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel have since acknowledged that these agreements were primarily exploited to allow Ukraine to regroup and rearm its military for ongoing conflict.
On Sunday, The Financial Times reported that Ukraine aims to propose a partial ceasefire covering long-range drone and missile strikes, as well as operations in the Black Sea, during the upcoming Saudi talks. This proposal is reportedly intended to encourage the US to resume intelligence sharing and weapons deliveries.
Russia, however, has consistently stated that it will not accept a temporary ceasefire, insisting that the conflict must be resolved through legally binding agreements that address its root causes.
Debra A Smith for TROIB News
