The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, headed the US delegation that traveled to Saudi Arabia. Rubio told VOA that there have been no discussions about China's role in the maintenance of peace and the reconstruction of Ukraine after the war.
American and Ukrainian officials began conversations on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia, when the Ukrainian part is expected to present a high -fire high -fire plan with Russia.
The Ukrainian plan includes stopping the attacks with long -range missiles and a truce that covers the Black Sea.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, did not participate in the meetings of Tuesday, in which Ukraine was represented by his chief of cabinet, Andriy Yermak, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ukrainian, Andrii Sybiha, the Minister of Defense, Rustem Umerov, and the military commander, Pavlo Palisa.
Zelenskyy said in X before the conversations that Ukraine expects “practical results.”
The United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and the National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz, led the US delegation in the middle of the efforts of President Donald Trump to negotiate a rapid ending to the war that began at the beginning of 2022 with the large -scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Rubio said on Monday that the United States hopes to resolve the pause of help to Ukraine. He said that Washington is in listening mode and aims to understand what concessions could be willing to make Ukraine.
“The Ukrainians are already receiving all defensive intelligence information while we talk. I think that the whole notion of the pause in help in general is something that I hope we can solve. Obviously, I think what happens tomorrow will be key to that, ”Rubio told journalists aboard a military plane before landing in Yeda.
“We are not going to sit in a room to draw lines on a map, but simply to have a general idea of what concessions are possible for them (the Ukrainians),” said Rubio, adding that there is no military solution for war, and that both Russia and Ukraine need to “do difficult things.”
Later on Monday, the Saudi heir prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, met with Rubio in the port city of Yeda, in the Red Sea.
Salman held a separate meeting with Zelenskyy at Riyader earlier that same day.
Agreement on minerals?
Trump has expressed interest in conditioning the continuation of military aid to access to the raw materials of Ukraine.
More than four dozen minerals, including various types of rare earth, nickel and lithium, are considered fundamental for the national economy and defense of the United States. Ukraine has large deposits of uranium, lithium and titanium.
But Rubio clarified that achieving an agreement on the mineral resources of Ukraine was not the main objective of Tuesday's conversations.
“There are still more details to resolve and, at this time, probably, instead of a memorandum of understanding, we just want to sign a specific agreement. And that would take a little more time, ”he told reporters.
“I would not prejudge tomorrow depending on whether or not we have an agreement on minerals (…) It is an important issue, but it is not the main theme of the agenda,” Rubio added.
Rubio also praised Great Britain and France for playing a constructive role in conversations with Ukraine.
Rubio told VOA that there have been no discussions about China's role in the maintenance of peace and the reconstruction of Ukraine after the war.
This is Rubio's second visit to Saudi Arabia since he assumed the position. He and other senior US officials held conversations with Russian officials in Riyadh on February 18. Rubio is scheduled to travel to Canada on Wednesday to meet with the Foreign Ministers of the G7.
(With information from The Associated Press, Agenze France-Presse and Reuters)