Washington, June 3 (IANS) Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday acknowledged that efforts to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine remain stalled, saying neither Russia nor Ukraine appears prepared to make the concessions necessary to reach a peace agreement.
Appearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee during a hearing on the State Department’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget request, Rubio described the conflict as one of the administration’s most persistent diplomatic challenges.
Responding to questions from lawmakers, Rubio said the United States had invested significant diplomatic effort in trying to bring the two sides to the negotiating table but had yet to achieve a breakthrough.
“We’ve invested a lot of time in it. Unfortunately, so far, neither side has been willing to make concessions, particularly on the Russian side, necessary in order to bring peace about,” Rubio said.
He added that Washington remains willing to play a constructive role if an opportunity for negotiations emerges.
“We remain ready to play any role we can in that context of bringing a peace about, because we think the war in Ukraine, devastating war, has no military solution. It can only be solved through a diplomatic route,” Rubio told the committee.
Rubio pushed back against suggestions that the United States was acting as a neutral intermediary in the conflict.
“We are not impartial mediators in that war,” he said.
“We don’t provide weapons to Russia; we only provide weapons to Ukraine. We don’t impose sanctions on Ukraine; we only impose sanctions on Russia. So, we have clearly taken a side.”
The secretary said the United States continues to support Ukraine while pursuing diplomatic avenues to end the fighting.
“We continue to sell weapons to Ukraine, by the way, through the PURL program, unimpeded by what’s happened in the Middle East or anywhere else,” Rubio said.
While expressing hope for progress, Rubio acknowledged that prospects for a settlement remain uncertain.
“As of right now, the prospects don’t look great that either side is prepared to make the concessions necessary in order to reach an agreement,” he said.
The comments came after Representative William Keating criticised the administration for not highlighting Ukraine among the State Department’s major diplomatic achievements, as Rubio had described. Keating argued that the conflict remained one of the most consequential international crises facing the United States and its allies.
Rubio acknowledged the frustrations surrounding the conflict and said Washington would continue engaging both sides.
“We stand ready, and we’ve engaged and invested a tremendous amount of high-level time on that conflict over the last year,” he said.
–IANS
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