NEW YORK, March 6. /TASS/. The US administration hopes that Ukraine has changed its position and is really interested in conflict settlement talks, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
"The Russians, look, they're not gonna be easy to deal with either, right? But we have to figure out what they are willing to do by getting them to the table. We couldn't do that if the Ukrainians are saying that they're not interested. Now that's changed, and hopefully that's true," he said in an interview with Fox News.
"And it would be to the benefit of everyone, the Russian people, the people of Ukraine, the people United States, frankly, our European partners and allies. It would be to their benefit as well to see this come to an end," he added.
US President Donald Trump said in early February that Washington was interested in getting access to Ukraine’s rare earth metals. A relevant agreement was expected to be signed during Vladimir Zelensky’s visit to Washington on February 28. Zelensky met with Trump on that day but during their conversation, which took place in the presence of journalists, a heated exchange erupted. Trump criticized Zelensky for his perceived disrespect toward the United States, while Vice President JD Vance pointed out that Zelensky had neglected to thank Washington for its support of Kiev. Consequently, the press conference following their meeting was canceled, and the signing of a mineral agreement between Ukraine and the United States did not occur.
Trump said during a Congress speech on Tuesday that he had received a message from Zelensky that expressed his readiness to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Ukraine. Zelensky indicated that he is ready to sign a minerals deal with the US at any time. Washington has made a potential resumption of weapons supplies to Ukraine contingent on Kiev’s readiness for talks.