Ukraine will have to cede territory under any peace agreement — Rubio

Ukraine must cede territory as part of any peace agreement. This was stated on the plane on the way to Saudi Arabia by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, The New York Times reports.

"The most important thing we have to deal with from here (from tomorrow's talks with the Ukrainian delegation. — EADaily) to leave is a firm feeling that Ukraine is ready to take difficult steps, just as the Russians will have to take difficult steps to put an end to this conflict or at least suspend it in some way in one form or another," Rubio said.

Rubio declined to offer the outlines of a potential agreement, but made it clear that concessions from both sides would be central to the negotiations.

"I think both sides should come to the understanding that there is no military solution to this situation. The Russians cannot conquer all of Ukraine, and it is obvious that it will be very difficult for Ukraine to force the Russians to return to where they were in 2014 in a reasonable time," he said.

According to Rubio, during future negotiations with Moscow, it is extremely important to determine what Russia is ready to do.

"We don't know how far they are from each other," the Secretary of State stressed.

As reported by EADaily, the US delegation and Ukraine at meetings in Saudi Arabia will discuss territorial issues, security protocols, the transfer of American intelligence and a deal on minerals in the coming days. This was stated by the US President's special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, Reuters reported.