US State Secretary Rubio: Donbas issue is "a bridge we haven’t crossed"
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has described the future status of Donbas as one of the toughest issues in the peace talks, saying the parties have not yet moved close to resolving it.
Source: CNN, citing Rubio speaking to lawmakers on the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as reported by European Pravda
Details: Rubio said diplomats are trying to find common ground between Kyiv's and Moscow's positions, but progress remains limited.
Quote: "I know there's active work going to try to see if both sides' views on that can't be reconciled. It's still a bridge we haven't crossed.
It's still a gap, but at least we've been able to narrow down the issue set to one central one, and it will probably be a very difficult one, but nonetheless, it's one that work is going on."
More details: Rubio acknowledged the political difficulty for Ukraine even to entertain "the notion that you would even consider a change in land".
Quote: "In the case of Russia, they've been telling their people for two and a half years that they're winning this war overwhelmingly. So people are going to wonder, why are we giving up land if we're winning so strongly?"
More details: Rubio described the pace of developments as fluid and fast-moving.
He also said he is in contact with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner "probably 10 times a day".
Background:
- Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha says President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is ready to meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin in person to settle two key issues in the peace talks – territories, and future control of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
- Zelenskyy said on 26 January that preparations are underway for another meeting of the negotiating teams from Ukraine, the US and Russia, which is planned for Sunday 1 February.
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