Ukraine: Marco Rubio says the goal is to extend negotiations to Europeans

O u.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, today assured that the goal is that “at some point” negotiations for a diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine should be extended to Europeans, who are already absent from the table.

In statements to the press in Paris, at the end of a ministerial meeting of the block of the seven largest world economies (G7), the head of diplomacy of the United States welcomed the first round of negotiations in Abu Dhabi, which today brought together representatives of Russia and Ukraine, with American mediation, considering them “very positive”, although admitting that “a lot of work remains to be done.”.

Asked about Europe’s controversial absence from these talks, Rubio pointed out that the European representatives who travelled to Abu Dhabi “have been working closely with Jared (Kushner) and Steve (Witkoff), who are present at all stages of the process,” referring to the American emissaries present in the trilateral negotiations.

“ And our goal is that, at some point, this trilateral format should be extended, so that it is no longer just the United States, Ukraine and Russia, but also the Europeans, who will be directly represented at this table in the framework of these negotiations,” the Secretary of State assured.

This morning, in Paris, and just before the start of the Abu Dhabi negotiating round, Rubio met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, commenting that it was a “productive” meeting.

“ We talked about the ongoing negotiations to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, energy resilience and defence cooperation,” he said, reaffirming that “the United States remains committed to achieving lasting and stable peace.”.

The first day of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, under mediation from the United States, ended today in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, and the talks should resume on Wednesday, the Ukrainian delegation announced.

The meetings, the first between Kiev and Moscow since February, seek to advance to a diplomatic solution of the war triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The two-day talks focus on the definition of future security guarantees, including a new framework for Europe, at a time when Russia considers NATO a threat and Ukraine seeks to prevent further Russian invasions.

Prior to the start of the tripartite talks, the Ukrainian negotiating team met representatives from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, NATO and the European Commission in Abu Dhabi.

Commenting today on the issue of European involvement in the negotiations for the end of the war, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov devalued the trip to the United Arab Emirates of representatives from European countries to meet with Ukrainian negotiators before work began.

“ As for the participation of Europeans, well, they flew to Abu Dhabi. Sit there in a hotel,” Lavrov said, quoted by the Russian agency TASS.