The US top diplomat has dismissed Vladimir Zelensky’s claims Washington had pressed Kiev into ceding Donbass.
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has lied about Washington pressing Kiev into withdrawing from Donbass, according to US Secretary of State Marko Rubio.
In an interview with Reuters aired earlier this week, Zelensky accused the US of making its offer of security guarantees to Ukraine conditional on Kiev ceding all the contested territory in Donbass to Russia.
The Ukrainian leader lamented what he described as the US sticking to “a strategy of putting more pressure on the Ukrainian side” and claimed that “the Americans are prepared to finalize these guarantees at a high level once Ukraine is ready to withdraw from Donbass.”
Speaking to reporters while in Paris for the G7 meeting on Friday, Rubio flatly denied that was the case, bluntly describing Zelensky’s assertions as a “lie.”
“That’s a lie. I saw him say that and it’s unfortunate he would say that, because he knows that’s not true,” Rubio stated when asked about his take on Zelensky’s interview.
“What he was told is the obvious: security guarantees are not going to kick in until there’s an end to a war, because otherwise you’re getting yourself involved in the war,” he added.
The US negotiators have merely communicated Moscow’s position to Kiev, Rubio pointed out, adding it was up to the Ukrainian leadership to make any such decisions. Washington has been seeking to only play the role of a mediator and to “try to figure out what both sides want and see if we can bridge the middle ground,” he stressed.
The top diplomat also warned that Washington is open to diverting some military assistance from Ukraine elsewhere amid the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran, should the need arise. Thus far, no such decision had been made, he noted.
“It could happen, and it could have always happened. If we need something for America and it’s American, we’re going to keep it for America first. But as of now, that has not happened,” Rubio said.
The US, Russia, and Ukraine have held three rounds of trilateral talks this year without achieving a breakthrough. A fourth round scheduled for this month ended up shelved due to the Iran war. Multiple reports have indicated that territorial claims remained the key issue preventing the negotiations from moving forward.
Kiev has repeatedly rejected making any concessions to Moscow, while the latter has maintained any potential settlement must include the recognition of the formerly Ukrainian regions that voted to join Russia.
