US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that a temporary ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia is “not off the table,” although both the US, Ukrainian and Russian sides agree that “the best way out is a full-fledged peace agreement.”
“Everyone agreed that the best way to end the war is to reach a full peace treaty. Who would be against us announcing as early as tomorrow: the deal is done and the war is over? That would be the best outcome,” Rubio told NBC News.
At the same time, he noted that the truce could be a step toward peace: “We have been in favour of this. Unfortunately, the Russians have not yet agreed to it.”
In the interview, Rubio also held the Kremlin responsible for the lack of progress, “it’s very difficult to negotiate when the fighting continues. But for a truce, both sides have to agree to cease fire … and the Russian Federation has not agreed to that.”
Earlier, Politico reported that European leaders intend to support Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting to be held on 18 August in Washington with US President Donald Trump.
Axios earlier reported, citing diplomatic sources, that during a telephone conversation with the Ukrainian president and European leaders, Trump said that he would like to hold a trilateral summit with Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin as early as 22 August. Putin has not officially announced his intention to participate in such a meeting.
Zelensky said Russia is “complicating the situation” by refusing a ceasefire and continuing to launch strikes in Ukraine. Trump said after meeting with Putin in Alaska on 15 August that he was not seeking a ceasefire but a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
Ukraine also says it has no intention of withdrawing troops from controlled areas of Donbass. This is reportedly one of the main conditions put forward by Moscow for a peace deal. In addition, the issue of Ukraine’s security guarantees is important. Yesterday, several media outlets reported that Trump offered Ukraine security guarantees in case of a peace deal with Moscow, similar to NATO’s fifth article on collective defence. This means that if a new war breaks out, the guarantor countries must give an armed response to the aggressor.