Senator Marco Rubio emphasized the gravity of the ongoing war, stating, “This is serious. This is not Mean Girls or some TV episode. People are dying, and unless a ceasefire happens tonight, more will perish tomorrow. The president wants this to stop, and that’s why we are here.”
Before the discussions, Rubio suggested on Monday evening that U.S. aid could resume depending on how the talks unfolded. However, he noted that Ukraine might have to relinquish some of the territory seized by Russia since 2014 as part of any peace agreement.
Ukraine has consistently rejected any ceasefire that involves ceding occupied land, including Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. Instead, Kyiv has called for a “just peace,” demanding that Russia pay reparations for the war.
Despite Rubio’s earlier comments about territorial concessions, negotiations did not touch on this issue, according to a Ukrainian official who spoke with POLITICO.
Daria Zarivna, an advisor to the Ukrainian president and a participant in the discussions, asserted that Ukraine is committed to peace. “We have demonstrated that we want peace the most. We are taking tangible steps toward ending the war. Russia must do the same,” she said.
Just hours before the negotiations in Saudi Arabia, Ukraine carried out its largest drone strike on Moscow since the war began, targeting ten regions across Russia.
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