Secretary of State: US diplomacy brings Ukraine, Russia closer to peace, but gaps remain

US Secretary of State Mark Rubio has confirmed that Ukraine and Russia are closer than ever to reaching a peace agreement, thanks to US efforts during the early stages of the Donald Trump administration.

However, he noted that significant gaps remain between the two sides, Caliber.Az reports per message posted on the US Department of State’s website.

According to Rubio, the progress made over the past 100 days has brought the two nations closer to resolving their conflict than they have been in the past three years.

"Look, we’ve gotten closer. We – for the first time – we haven’t known this for three years – we kind of can see what it would take for Ukraine to stop. We can see what it would take for the Russians to stop. The problem is those two positions are still a little far apart," Rubio said.

The Secretary of State stressed the need for a breakthrough in the near future to achieve peace.

"There does come a point where the President has to decide how much more time at the highest levels of our government do you dedicate it," he remarked, underscoring the urgency of resolving the conflict. 

In addition to the ongoing war in Ukraine, Rubio pointed to other critical global issues, such as the challenges posed by China and Iran, which demand attention. 

"Not that a war in Ukraine is not important, but I would say what’s happening with China is more important in the long term for the future of the world. Obviously, Iran’s nuclear ambition, all these other things that we have going on. So at some point in time, it either has to be something that can happen or we all need to move on," he added. 

At present, Ukraine and Russia are not engaged in direct negotiations to end the war, though President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed openness to discussions following a ceasefire. Two rounds of talks were held in Saudi Arabia, where the US acted as mediators. These discussions involved separate meetings with Ukrainian and American teams, as well as talks between Washington and Moscow. 

The primary goal of the negotiations was to reach a comprehensive ceasefire, but Russia has so far refused to agree. The United States has made it clear that it will not continue mediating negotiations where there is no progress and has warned that it may withdraw its involvement if talks fail to move forward.

By Naila Huseynova