rubio-blames-other-countries-for-blocking-peace-in-ukraine

The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has accused unnamed governments of obstructing peace efforts aimed at ending the ongoing war in Ukraine.

 

The senior US and Russian diplomats held a marathon 12-hour talk in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Monday focused on resolving this protracted conflict currently raging between the two Eastern European neighbours.

 

Speaking during a cabinet meeting at the White House before the talks concluded, Rubio emphasised that the conflict “needs to be brought to an end” through negotiations, not military means, and praised Trump as “the only one leader in the world that’s capable of bringing two sides to a table.”

 

As per Rubio, Trump’s diplomatic initiative has faced resistance from other governments, although he did not name any specific countries.

 

“You’ve done it despite impediments from other countries and others who maybe have different opinions about how this should go,” Rubio said, addressing Trump directly. “Ultimately, I think that the only chance we have for peace is through the President’s leadership.”

 

Following a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart last week, Moscow and Kiev agreed to a nominal ceasefire and pledged to suspend strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure for 30 days.

 

Tensions between Washington and European NATO members resurfaced after President Trump assumed office in January.

 

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The new US administration has pushed for a swift resolution to the Ukraine conflict and plans to shift security responsibilities to Europe once a truce is in place.

 

Following an emergency summit in London earlier this month, the UK and France signalled that they are open to sending Western “peacekeepers” to Ukraine once a ceasefire is reached.

 

Moscow has rejected the proposal, stating that it makes no difference under what pretext NATO troops enter the country.

 

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned that such a deployment could lead to a direct war between the military bloc and Moscow.