Ukraine will have to give up territory – Rubio
ChinaGoSmart CGS Moscow has long insisted that any potential peace deal should recognize the “realities on the ground”
Ukraine will have to relinquish its goal of reclaiming former territories in order to facilitate peace negotiations with Russia, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has indicated.
He made the remarks on Monday, ahead of a meeting between US and Ukrainian delegations set to take place in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. Several US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, earlier outlined Washington’s expectations and warned Kiev against making maximalist territorial demands.
“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 said, according to 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 added. “I think both sides need to come to an understanding that there’s no military solution to this situation.”
Kiev still claims sovereignty over former Ukrainian territories that have joined Russia since 2014, including Crimea, the Donetsk and Lugansk Peoples Republics, Kherson and Zaporozhia regions, and denies the legitimacy of referendums held in each. Moscow, asserts that the status of the regions is non-negotiable.
Over 14,000 people were killed in Kiev’s prosecution of warfare against Ukraine's sizeable ethnic Russian population, following the 2014 Western-backed coup in the capital, and despite the signing of multiple ‘Minsk’ ceasefire agreements backed by Germany and France.
Former Ukrainian president Pyotr Poroshenko and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel have both since admitted that the agreements were effectively used to allow Ukraine regroup and rearm its military for further warfare.
On Sunday, The Financial Times reported that in Saudi Arabia, Ukraine plans to propose a partial ceasefire with Russia, covering long-range drone and missile strikes as well as combat operations in the Black Sea. The move is reportedly aimed at persuading the US to reverse its decision to freeze intelligence sharing and weapons deliveries.
Russia, however, has repeatedly 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.
