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Ukraine must give up some of the territory seized by Russia since 2014 for any agreement to end the war, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated Monday as he headed to Saudi Arabia for peace talks.
Rubio said concessions are “the only way” to end the full-scale invasion that Russia launched in February 2022 that has killed nearly a million people on both sides in the largest war in Europe since World War II.
“They’ve [Ukrainians] suffered greatly and their people have suffered greatly, and it’s hard in the aftermath of something like that to even talk about concessions,” he told reporters. “But that’s the only way this is going to end to prevent more suffering.”
The high-stakes talks in Saudi Arabia are the first between top U.S. officials and Ukraine’s leadership since President Volodymyr Zelenskyy clashed with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance in front of journalists at the White House.
Adding that he was “not going to pre-negotiate anything,” Rubio said the U.S. side would seek to understand what Kyiv is “willing to do in order to achieve peace” and bring an end to the war.
“It may be incompatible with what the Russians are willing to do,” he said. “That’s what we need to find out. “
Ukraine has long ruled out a cease-fire agreement that includes giving up land occupied by Russia, including the Crimean Peninsula, which Russian President Vladimir Putin seized in 2014. The Ukrainian government has instead called for a “just peace” that sees the Kremlin paying reparations for its grinding three-year war.
Zelenskyy is in Saudi Arabia to meet with de-facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, but will not join the talks with Rubio and U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz.
Instead, the Ukrainians will be represented by Zelenskyy’s chief aide Andriy Yermak, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
Kyiv and Washington’s relations have been precarious, particularly since Zelenskyy’s televised Oval Office quarrel with Trump and Vance. Trump halted all U.S. military aid for the country in a bid to pressure Ukraine to the negotiating table with Russia.
Rubio hinted that aid could start flowing again depending on the outcome of the upcoming talks, saying the U.S. “could have good news to announce on that front.”
“All of that came about because we felt that they were not committed to any sort of peace process or not interested in negotiations,” he said. “If that changes, then obviously our posture can change.”
Rubio also addressed his recent clash with the Polish foreign minister on X over the use of tech billionaire Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet system in Ukraine, with Warsaw saying it would “look for other suppliers” if Musk were to turn off the vital service.
After previously sniping that Poland should say “say thank you” for U.S. assistance for Ukraine, Rubio called the country “a great NATO ally.”
“They’re a great example for the rest of Europe. I was simply responding to a post by the foreign minister which is just inaccurate,” Rubio said.
