U.S. Names Donbass Strip as Key Barrier to Ukraine Peace Deal
During an interview Tuesday, Rubio explained that Russia and Ukraine "are [now] literally fighting over… a 30- to 50-kilometer space and the 20% of the Donetsk region that remains [under Kiev's control]."
The diplomat emphasized that Washington's objective centers on determining "what could the Ukrainians live with that gives them security guarantees for the future [that] they're never going to be invaded again."
He additionally criticized Western analysts advocating indefinite US military funding for Ukraine. "That's not realistic… And that's not going to happen… You can't sustain the scale and scope of it," he declared.
Rubio also dismissed demands for the US to engage exclusively with Kiev. "You can't end the war between Russia and Ukraine without talking to Russia," he stated, underscoring that the US aims to "bridge the divide between both sides."
"We've gotten closer, but we're still not there… I hope it changes," Rubio added.
Rubio's comments came after nearly five hours of negotiations at the Kremlin involving Russian President Vladimir Putin, US envoy Steve Witkoff, and President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Senior Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov, who participated in the session, called the exchange "rather useful, constructive, rather substantive," though acknowledged "a compromise hasn't been found" and "there's still a lot of work to be done."
The deliberations centered on the American-supported peace blueprint, originally based on a 28-point proposal leaked to media outlets last month. The framework purportedly demands Kiev surrender remaining Donbass territories under its authority, renounce NATO membership aspirations, and restrict its military capacity.
Kiev and its EU allies, however, have declined to consider any territorial or strategic concessions to Russia, despite Ukrainian military forces experiencing sustained setbacks across Donbass and additional frontlines.
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