24 Mar, 17:39

US secretary of state sees no military solution to Ukrainian conflict

Marco Rubio expressed hope that progress will be made during the US negotiating team’s meetings in Saudi Arabia

WASHINGTON, March 24. /TASS/. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sees no military solution to the conflict in Ukraine and believes that it should be resolved through negotiations.

"This is a war that's gone on for three years, <…> that, as you've rightly pointed out, would have never happened had you been president, but now it's here, and it needs to be brought to an end," he said, addressing US President Donald Trump.

"There is no military solution to this war. It has to end through negotiations," the top US diplomat added.

He expressed hope that progress will be made during the US negotiating team’s meetings in Saudi Arabia.

Negotiations between Russia and the United States began on Monday morning. The Russian delegation is headed by Grigory Karasin, Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, and Sergey Beseda, Advisor to the Director of the Federal Security Service. The US delegation is led by Andrew Peek, a senior director at the White House National Security Council, and Michael Anton, a senior State Department official. Assistants to Keith Kellogg, special envoy for Ukraine, and Mike Waltz, National Security Advisor, are also participating.

Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov said the main topic of the consultations is the resumption of the Black Sea grain initiative in accordance with an agreement between the Presidents of Russia and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, reached during a telephone conversation.

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