The United States does not want endless talks between Russia and Ukraine. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stressed that Washington wants to see real results.
The top diplomat said this after talks between the Russian-Ukrainian delegations in Turkey. This is the first direct talks between the two countries since the war began.
During the talks, both countries agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war. They said they would continue talks until a ceasefire proposal is prepared.
In an interview given on CBS News’ ‘Face the Nation’ program on Sunday, Rubio said, “On the one hand, we are trying to achieve peace. We want to end a very bloody, expensive and destructive war. So we need to be patient.
‘On the other hand, we do not have time to waste. There are many other things happening in the world that we need to pay attention to. So we do not want to just get involved in this process of endless talks. Some progress has to be made, we have to move forward. ’
Rubio said the United States would consider a ceasefire proposal from Russia and Ukraine. If the proposal is realistic and reasonable, the United States would consider it progress.
The US Secretary of State confirmed that the United States is ready to impose more sanctions on Russia if no agreement is reached.
He expressed optimism that both houses of Congress will pass the bill proposed by Senator Lindsey Graham. According to the bill, a 500 percent tariff will be imposed on goods imported from countries that buy Russian oil, gas and uranium.
The White House said that Rubio spoke by phone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday. He reiterated Donald Trump’s call for an immediate ceasefire.
Moscow has rejected an unconditional 30-day ceasefire proposal. It has insisted that the talks should address the “root causes” of the conflict.
Among these factors is Ukraine’s desire to join NATO, which Russia sees as a threat to its national security.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that for a permanent ceasefire, Ukraine must stop building up troops, stop importing weapons from abroad and withdraw troops from Russian-occupied territory.
He warned that Kiev would likely take advantage of the temporary ceasefire to try to build up new weapons and forces.
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