US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that the coming days will determine how serious Russian President Vladimir Putin is about peace in Ukraine, as US officials depart for Saudi Arabia for meetings with Russian officials.
America's top diplomat also dismissed European concerns that they have been excluded from talks between Russia and the United States, saying in an interview with CBS that the negotiation process is still in the preliminary stages.
Earlier on Sunday, Reuters reported that US officials had submitted a questionnaire to European officials asking, among other things, how many troops they could contribute to implementing a peace agreement.
But no European allies were invited to Saudi Arabia, where Russian and American officials are expected to begin talks early this week on ways to end the war in Ukraine.
"President Trump spoke with Vladimir Putin last week and Vladimir Putin expressed his interest in peace, while the president expressed his desire to end the conflict in a sustainable way that preserves Ukrainian sovereignty," Rubio said in an interview with CBS television.
"Of course this needs to be followed up with concrete actions, so the coming weeks and days will determine whether it is something serious or not. Ultimately, a phone call does not bring peace," he said.
U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz will leave for Saudi Arabia on Sunday evening, Mr. Witkoff said in an interview with Fox News earlier in the day. Secretary Rubio said he was scheduled to go to Saudi Arabia anyway because of an official trip to the region. The composition of the Russian delegation has not yet been finalized, Mr. Rubio said.
WILL EUROPE HAVE A ROLE IN THE PEACE TALKS?
Secretary Rubio and Advisor Witkoff dismissed concerns that Ukraine and European leaders would have no role in peace negotiations, despite Mr. Trump's envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, suggesting just that at the Munich Security Conference.
Mr. Witkoff said in the Fox News interview that Ukrainian officials had met with several American officials during the conference, while President Trump had spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy last week.
Mr. Rubio said that Ukrainians and other Europeans would be included in any meaningful negotiation process.
"If it turns out to be real negotiations and we're not at that point yet - but if that happens, Ukraine will have to be involved because they're the ones who were invaded (by Russia) and the Europeans will have to be involved because they have sanctions on Putin and Russia. We're just not at that point yet," Mr. Rubio said.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron will hold an emergency high-level meeting of European leaders on Monday to discuss the war in Ukraine and European security, in an attempt to find a concrete response to US President Donald Trump's approach to the conflict.
Their main concern is that they may lose the certainty that they can rely on the military protection of the United States and that Mr. Trump may reach a peace agreement for Ukraine with the Russian president, with concessions at the expense of Kiev and which could undermine broader continental European security.
Asked if he had discussed lifting sanctions on Russia during a phone call Saturday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Rubio declined to confirm, saying simply that they "didn't go into detail."
After the call, Moscow said the two top diplomats had discussed removing "unilateral barriers" imposed by the previous US administration in relations with Russia.
Mr. Rubio said he had raised the issue of the "difficult" conditions under which the US embassy in Moscow operates during the call and said that to make progress in achieving peace in Ukraine, both Russia and the US will need properly functioning embassies in each other's countries. VOA (A2 Televizion)
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