US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated in an interview with Fox News that Washington intends to step up its efforts towards a peaceful resolution in Ukraine.
“Over the next few weeks, you will see certain efforts aimed at determining whether we can resume negotiations between Russia and Ukraine and bring this war to an end. We also understand that both sides have quite firm ‘red lines’, and until we manage to narrow these ‘red lines’ even slightly, we will not achieve the desired result,” Rubio noted.
Negotiations between Ukraine and Russia regarding possible terms for ending the war have not been taking place for several months now. Previous rounds, held in the Middle East and Switzerland with US participation, failed to yield tangible results. The only agreement reached was on the exchange of prisoners of war.
A few days ago, a Radio Free Europe correspondent in Washington, citing two sources, reported that US President’s special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner may visit Kyiv in the second half of August during events marking the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence.
US media reported on preparations for such a visit following closed-door talks between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 28 July at the White House.
They are expected to explore new ideas for resuming peace talks – an issue that remains one of the White House’s priorities. At the same time, sources noted that the final details of the trip are still being worked out.
If the visit goes ahead as planned, it will be Steve Whitcroft and Jared Kushner’s first trip to Ukraine, although both have visited Russia on numerous occasions and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin there.
According to sources, arrangements for the visit were finalised during a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump at the White House on 28 July. The trip was also preceded by the resumption of Kyiv’s contacts with special envoys, in particular a recent telephone conversation with Zelenskyy focused on reviving peace efforts.