RIYADH (AFP): US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday Washington was aiming for a “fair” and “sustainable” solution to the Ukraine war, after a meeting with his Russian counterpart in Riyadh.
In remarks to reporters after the Saudi-hosted meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Rubio said that “the goal is to bring an end to this conflict in a way that’s fair, enduring, sustainable and acceptable to all parties involved”.
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement that the two top diplomats had agreed to “appoint respective high-level teams to begin working on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible”.
Rubio said that European nations would have to be involved in talks on ending the war, and that “extraordinary opportunities existed to partner” with Russia.
“The key to unlock that is the end to this conflict,” he said.
Bruce billed the meeting as “an important step forward” towards peace.
Rubio and Lavrov agreed to “lay the groundwork for future cooperation on matters of mutual geopolitical interest and historic economic and investment opportunities which will emerge from a successful end to the conflict in Ukraine”, the spokeswoman said.
Rubio said he was “convinced” that Moscow was willing to engage in a “serious process” to end the war.
US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said the negotiations will focus on territory and security guarantees.
“This needs to be a permanent end to the war and not a temporary end, as we’ve seen in the past,” Waltz said.
“There is going to be some discussion of territory and there’s going to be discussion of security guarantees.”
