Washington is preparing to intensify diplomatic activity regarding Ukraine. In the coming weeks, the US plans to take concrete steps aimed at finding opportunities to resume the negotiation process between Kyiv and Moscow. State Secretary Marco Rubio announced the upcoming initiatives on Fox News.
Diplomatic Pause and New Hopes
According to the high-ranking US official, the administration intends to determine within a few weeks whether there is a real chance to reboot the dialogue between the parties to the conflict. The main goal of these efforts remains finding a way to end the war.
"Over the next few weeks, you will witness certain efforts to find out if we can resume negotiations between Russia and Ukraine and put an end to this war," Rubio emphasized.
The Problem of 'Red Lines'
Despite the readiness for dialogue, the US Secretary of State does not hide the complexity of the current situation. He noted that the main obstacle to peace remains the fundamental disagreements between the parties to the conflict. Each side adheres to rigid positions, which Washington calls "red lines".
Rubio pointed to the need to bring these positions closer to achieve any progress: "We also understand that both sides have fairly clear 'red lines,' and until we can bring these 'red lines' a little closer, we will not yet achieve the desired result".
Kyiv's Position and Past Experience
Ukraine has repeatedly stated its readiness to continue negotiations, but on a strict condition: the dialogue must be aimed at achieving a ceasefire. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine previously noted that previous attempts at dialogue, in particular the preliminary round in Istanbul, did not yield the expected results.
In the opinion of Ukrainian diplomats, that round effectively boiled down to discussing the exchange of prisoners, while the Russian side continued to make ultimatum demands, leaving no room for compromise. Now the attention of the whole world is focused on whether Washington's efforts can change this dynamic.
