Rubio says progress made in Ukraine talks but toughest issues still ahead

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that Washington has "made progress" in negotiations on Ukraine, but stressed that much work remains and the most difficult issues usually come at the end.

Source: The Guardian, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Rubio said that the US administration has invested "a tremendous amount of time and energy" in ending Russia's war against Ukraine and is "trying to figure out what can Ukraine live with and what can Russia live with".

Quote: "[We want to] sort of identify what both sides' positions are and see if we can sort of drive them towards each other to some agreement.

A negotiated settlement requires two things, both sides to get something out of it, and both sides to give something. And we're trying to figure out, what can Russia give and what do they expect to get? What can Ukraine give and what can Ukraine expect to get? In the end, the decision will be up to Ukraine, and up to Russia will not be up to the United States."

Details: Rubio said that "this is not about imposing a deal on anybody", but about trying to find points where interests "overlap".

"I think we've made progress, but we have ways to go, and obviously the hardest issues are always the last issues," he added.

Background:

• Politico reported earlier that Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev is set to visit Miami on 20-21 December for talks with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner regarding the US "peace plan".
• Rustem Umierov, Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, has announced that he and Andrii Hnatov, Chief of Ukraine's General Staff, are beginning another round of consultations with the American side on 19 December.

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