ANKARA, May 16. /TASS/. The US administration does not plan to stop its mediation efforts, aimed at achieving peace in Ukraine, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Antalya.
When asked whether Washington was planning to give up its role of a mediator if no tangible progress is achieved, Rubio replied: "What I can say with certainty is that the President - look, he’s willing to stick with this as long as it takes to achieve peace. What we cannot do, however, is continue to fly all over the world and engage in meetings that are not going to be productive. Again, I was scheduled to be here anyways because of the NATO summit, and so it just wound up working out that way."
He added that his country was not going to be "chasing this around the world anymore."
"We came because we were told that there might be a direct engagement between the Russians and the Ukrainians; that was originally the plan. You all heard the same thing. That was not to be the be case," the top US diplomat continued.
He claimed that the level of the Russian delegation shows that a breakthrough is unlikely.
"The level of team that was sent by the Russian side is certainly not indicative of one that’s going to lead to a major breakthrough. I hope I’m wrong. I hope I’m 100% wrong. I hope tomorrow the news says they’ve agreed to a ceasefire; they’ve agreed to enter serious negotiations. But I’m just giving you my assessment, honestly," he added.
Negotiations in Istanbul
Speaking to reporters in the Kremlin early on May 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin invited the Kiev authorities to resume without any preliminary conditions the direct talks they broke off in 2022. He proposed to start the talks on May 15 in Istanbul. The Russian leader noted that Russia had declared ceasefires more than once but all of them, including the latest three-day V-Day truce, were violated by the Kiev regime.
On May 14, the president appointed members of the Russian delegation and experts for talks with Kiev. The negotiating team is led by Kremlin Aide Vladimir Medinsky. It also includes Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin; the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Igor Kostyukov; and Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin. A source familiar with the situation said the talks are poised to start on May 16.
Medinsky told reporters in Istanbul on May 15 that the Russian delegation has all the necessary skills, competence and powers to negotiate.