SECRETARY RUBIO:<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0I think it\u2019s important to remind everybody that the Ukraine war is a terrible thing, but it\u2019s not our war.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t start it.\u00a0 The United States has been helping Ukraine for over the last three years, and we want it to end.\u00a0 But it\u2019s not our war.\u00a0 I wanted everyone to understand that.\u00a0 And the reason why I make that point is the President has spent 87 days at the highest level of this government repeatedly taking efforts to bring this war to an end.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We are now reaching a point where we need to decide and determine whether this is even possible or not, which is why we\u2019re engaging both sides.\u00a0 As you know, Ambassador Witkoff has had not one, not two, but three meetings with Vladimir Putin to determine the Russian perspective on this and understand what it would take for them to end it.\u00a0 We \u2013 General Kellogg, myself, and others \u2013 have had repeated engagements with the Ukrainians.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So we came here yesterday to sort of begin to talk about more specific outlines of what it might take to end the war, to try to figure out very soon \u2013 and I\u2019m talking about a matter of days, not a matter of weeks \u2013 whether or not this is a war that can be ended.\u00a0 If it can, we\u2019re prepared to do whatever we can to facilitate that and make sure that it happens, that it ends in a durable and just way.<\/p>\n
If it\u2019s not possible \u2013 if we\u2019re so far apart that this is not going to happen \u2013 then I think the President\u2019s probably at a point where he\u2019s going to say, well, we\u2019re done.\u00a0 We\u2019ll do what we can on the margins.\u00a0 We\u2019ll be ready to help whenever you\u2019re ready to have peace.\u00a0 But we\u2019re not going to continue with this endeavor for weeks and months on end.<\/p>\n
So, we need to determine very quickly now \u2013 and I\u2019m talking about a matter of days \u2013 whether or not this is doable in the \u2013 over the next few weeks.\u00a0 If it is, we\u2019re in.\u00a0 If it\u2019s not, then we\u2019ll have to \u2013 we have other priorities to focus on as well.<\/p>\n
QUESTION:<\/b>\u00a0 Mr. Secretary, Michael Gordon,\u00a0Wall Street Journal.\u00a0 The State Department said yesterday that a framework had been presented \u2013 both sides: to the Ukrainians, to the European officials, and to the Russians.\u00a0 What does the framework say?\u00a0 What issues does it resolve?<\/p>\n
SECRETARY RUBIO:<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0Well, I\u2019m not going to tell you what the framework says because when you start negotiating these things through the media and so forth, they fall apart.\u00a0 And it\u2019s a broad framework.\u00a0 It\u2019s a framework that gets us into a position to see \u2013 look, there are going to be differences; there\u2019s no \u2013 no one\u2019s saying this can be done in 12 hours.\u00a0 But we want to see how far apart it is and whether those differences are \u2013 can even be narrowed, if it\u2019s even possible to get movement within the period of time we have in mind.<\/p>\n
So, we\u2019ve talked about outlines with both sides.\u00a0 I thought we had positive meetings yesterday.\u00a0 Obviously, the Ukrainians have to go back home, they have to run it by their president, they have to take into account their views on all of this.\u00a0 And we hope to hear back from them very soon.\u00a0 But we need to figure out here now, within a matter of days, whether this is doable in the short term.\u00a0 Because if it\u2019s not, then I think we\u2019re just going to move on, from our perspective.\u00a0 The President feels very strongly about that.\u00a0 He has dedicated a lot of time and energy to this, and there are a lot of things going on in the world right now that we need to be focused on.<\/p>\n
So, this is important, but there are a lot of other really important things going on that deserve just as much if not more attention.\u00a0 So we want to do everything we can to be helpful.\u00a0 We had a good meeting yesterday.\u00a0 I thought the French, the British, the Germans were very constructive, were very helpful.\u00a0 We thanked them for hosting this, and hopefully we\u2019ll have another meeting early next week at some point where we\u2019ll have some more definitive answers about how close we are to actually making progress.\u00a0 But this isn\u2019t going to go on forever.<\/p>\n
QUESTION:<\/b>\u00a0 Mr. Secretary, Leon Bruneau, Agence France-Presse.\u00a0 In your conversations yesterday with the Europeans and the Ukrainians, I\u2019m sure you spoke about security guarantees for Ukraine in case of a ceasefire.\u00a0 Could you give us a sense of what that could look like, and is the U.S. ready to back up any eventual European reassurance force for Ukraine?<\/p>\n
SECRETARY RUBIO:<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0Well, that gets into a level of specifics that we\u2019re not ready to discuss publicly yet.\u00a0 Obviously, the term \u201csecurity guarantees\u201d came up because they come up in every meeting.\u00a0 We\u2019ve heard about it.\u00a0 And it\u2019s not an illegitimate desire.\u00a0 Every sovereign nation on Earth has a right to defend itself.\u00a0 Ukraine will have a right to defend itself and to enter into whatever agreements it wants to enter into on a bilateral basis with different countries and so forth.<\/p>\n
So, I mean, it was discussed, but I don\u2019t \u2013 and (inaudible) have to be part of any sort of conversation.\u00a0 Ukraine \u2013 in order for there to be peace, we recognize that Ukraine has to feel like it has the ability to defend itself from a future attack from anyone.\u00a0 Every country in the world has that right.\u00a0 But, I think everyone recognizes that Ukraine\u2019s ability to defend itself is going to be a part \u2013 it\u2019s its right as a country and will be a part of any agreement.\u00a0 But we\u2019re not working yet on that level of specifics.\u00a0 I think that\u2019s something we can fix and solve in a way that\u2019s acceptable to everyone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I think we have bigger challenges that we need to figure out whether it\u2019s even possible within the short term.\u00a0 I can tell you this:\u00a0 This war has no military solution to it.\u00a0 It really doesn\u2019t.\u00a0 It\u2019s not going to be decided with \u2013 neither side has some strategic capability to end this war quickly.\u00a0 And so what we\u2019re talking about here is avoiding thousands and thousands of people from dying over the next year.\u00a0 We\u2019re trying to avoid that.\u00a0 We saw what happened last weekend with a missile strike in Sumy, where people died on Palm Sunday.\u00a0 We\u2019re just going to see more like that.\u00a0 On both sides we\u2019re going to see more of that, and we\u2019re trying to prevent it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But we\u2019re not going to continue to fly all over the world and do meeting after meeting after meeting if no progress is being made.\u00a0 So if they\u2019re serious about peace \u2013 either side, or both \u2013 we want to help.\u00a0 If it\u2019s not going to happen, then we\u2019re just going to move on.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to move on to other topics that are equally if not more important in some ways to the United States.<\/p>\n
QUESTION:<\/b>\u00a0 Secretary of State, is this process involving the Europeans going to be the process going forward now for Ukraine talks?\u00a0 And who from the U.S. team will be attending talks in London next week?<\/p>\n
SECRETARY RUBIO:<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0Well, it depends what the talks will be about next week.\u00a0 As I said, if it\u2019s just going to be a meeting to have another meeting, we\u2019ll figure that \u2013 whether it\u2019ll happen.\u00a0 I\u2019m hoping that it\u2019s a meeting where we\u2019re going to get more specificity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So we\u2019re going to work through that.\u00a0 We don\u2019t even have a date set.\u00a0 It\u2019ll be early next week.\u00a0 Obviously, we\u2019re having \u2013 there\u2019s a holiday weekend, so people have to move around and get to their places and get back.\u00a0 We\u2019ll \u2013 but having another meeting somewhere in Europe is not going to be a problem, and we can make that happen to have the right people there.\u00a0 I\u2019m willing to come myself if the meeting is going to be productive.<\/p>\n
But I can \u2013 what was the first part of your question again?<\/p>\n
QUESTION:<\/b>\u00a0 And is this going to be the process going forward?<\/p>\n
SECRETARY RUBIO:<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0Oh, look, we\u2019ve always worked through the \u2013 I mean, we\u2019ve always \u2013 we talk to our allies consistently.\u00a0 I myself have had multiple engagements with not \u2013 the Germans, the French, the Brits, but also the Italians have been at some of these meetings as well in the past.\u00a0 So we\u2019ve had these conversations with them before.\u00a0 So, they offered to host us here today, or yesterday, and it was \u2013 I think they were very helpful, very constructive.\u00a0 We\u2019d like them to remain engaged.\u00a0 I think they can help us.\u00a0 I think the UK and France and Germany can help us move the ball on this and then get this closer to a resolution.\u00a0 I thought they were very helpful and constructive with their ideas.<\/p>\n
So we welcome their input.\u00a0 We welcome their involvement.\u00a0 We think it\u2019s important.\u00a0 There are probably elements of this as well.\u00a0 I always remind everybody that part of the sanctions against Russia, many of them are European sanctions that we can\u2019t lift, if that were ever to be part of a deal.\u00a0 So they\u2019re going to have to be involved no matter what.\u00a0 It\u2019s their continent.\u00a0 This is happening on the continent of Europe, and so obviously European powers will care deeply about what happens.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So, they have a stake in this and we recognize it, and they \u2013 but in the end I think we all want the same thing.\u00a0 I think from the U.S. perspective, we\u2019ve spent three years, billions of dollars supporting the Ukrainian side, and \u2013 but now we\u2019ve reached the point where we have other things we have to focus on.\u00a0 We\u2019re prepared to be engaged in this as long as it takes, but not indefinitely, not without progress.\u00a0 If this is not possible, we\u2019re going to need to move on.\u00a0 I think the President feels strongly that we\u2019ve dedicated a tremendous \u2013 we\u2019ve done more in 80 days than Biden ever did to bring this war to an end.\u00a0 So, we\u2019ve dedicated the \u2013 almost the entirety of the President\u2019s first hundred days in office at the highest levels possible to trying to achieve a peace here.\u00a0 And if it\u2019s going to happen, we want to help.\u00a0 But if it\u2019s not going to happen, we need to know now because we have other things we have to deal with.<\/p>\n
QUESTION:<\/b>\u00a0 Mr. Secretary, James from Fox News.\u00a0 In terms of your discussions with Foreign Minister Lavrov yesterday, what gave you the indication that he\u2019s also willing to move forward given that they hadn\u2019t accepted the framework of the ceasefire already, in terms of now from your discussions, why you feel that (inaudible) be (inaudible move forward?<\/p>\n
SECRETARY RUBIO:<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0Well, look, I spoke to Minister Lavrov yesterday because when we have these kinds of meetings, it\u2019s important for you to communicate to the other side, otherwise they don\u2019t know what happened; now they\u2019re relying on rumors or whatever\u2019s out there.\u00a0 So I spoke to him very directly.\u00a0 I said we had a meeting today with the Ukrainians.\u00a0 We proposed an outline.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t go into specificity about it, but I think he has an understanding of some of the elements of it.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure he does.\u00a0 I said we thought it was constructive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We thought it was positive that nobody rejected anything, nobody got up from the table and walked away.\u00a0 They\u2019re going to go back to their capital, spend a few days mulling over it, come back to us early next week.\u00a0 And also wanted him to know that the French and the British and the Germans were very constructive and helpful.\u00a0 That was the gist of the conversation.\u00a0 And I think it\u2019s important when you\u2019re dealing with things like this, especially with the Russians who we just haven\u2019t communicated with for three and a half years, I think it\u2019s important that that communication happen.\u00a0 And likewise when we\u2019ve had meetings with Russians in the past or when Secretary \u2013 when Ambassador Witkoff has traveled to meet with Putin, we\u2019ve informed the Ukrainian side of what happens so that we don\u2019t have a breakdown in trust and things of that nature.\u00a0<\/p>\n
QUESTION:<\/b>\u00a0 Quick, just on Iran really quick.\u00a0 Was there any discussion yesterday with your European counterparts on any of the Iran negotiations?\u00a0 Are they also sharing the President\u2019s vision of Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon?\u00a0<\/p>\n
SECRETARY RUBIO:<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0Well, for the Europeans, they have an important decision to make very soon on snapback \u2013 on the snapback of sanctions \u2013 because Iran is clearly out of compliance with the current deal.\u00a0 As you saw, the IAEA was in Tehran yesterday, issued public statements saying Iran is as close as it\u2019s ever been to nuclear weapons.\u00a0 The President\u2019s made clear Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.\u00a0 That is not going to happen.\u00a0 We\u2019re hoping that talks continue and that they\u2019re fruitful and that they\u2019re \u2013 that they can lead to something.\u00a0 We would all prefer a peaceful resolution and a lasting one.\u00a0 It has to be something that actually not just prevents Iran from having a nuclear weapon now, but in the future as well, not just for 10 years with some sort of sunset provision or the like.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So we discussed that, obviously, because the Europeans, the E3, have a decision to make on snapback.\u00a0 Because I believe we should all anticipate, based on the public comments yesterday, that they\u2019re about to get a report from the IAEA that says not just is Iran out of compliance but Iran is dangerously close to a weapon, closer than they\u2019ve ever been.\u00a0 And then they\u2019re going to have to make a decision about whether they want to reimpose these sanctions.\u00a0 And if Iran is not in compliance, they have to reimpose the sanctions.\u00a0 So that\u2019s going to be a factor in all this and that\u2019s why it was important we talk to them about it before our talks on Saturday.<\/p>\n
QUESTION:<\/b>\u00a0 Thank you.<\/p>\n
SECRETARY RUBIO:<\/b>\u00a0All right?\u00a0 Thank you, guys.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SECRETARY RUBIO:\u00a0\u00a0I think it\u2019s important to remind everybody that the Ukraine war is a terrible thing, but it\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":242003,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7654],"tags":[2000,299,657],"class_list":{"0":"post-242002","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ukraine","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-ukraine"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114804845906026588","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242002"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242002\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}