LOC08:41
05:41 GMT
Secretary of State Marco Rubio
WASHINGTON, Aug 19 (KUNA) -- Secretary of State Marco Rubio commended on Tuesday the negotiations for a peace settlement between Ukraine and Russia led by the administration of President Donald Trump.
Speaking to Fox News, Rubio said that after three years of stagnation and lack of negotiations, the Washington-led talks seem like the first step to resolve this issue.
He praised President Trump for his efforts, saying that he was the only leader in the world who could hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladymyr Putin and Ukraine leader Volodmir Zelensky to find a way out of war.
He indicated that Trump was aiming for a tripartite summit to put all involved players on one negotiation table.
Regarding to Trump's security assurance to the Ukraine, Rubio said that the US was working with European and non-European allies to bring such assurance to solid grounds. He stressed that such assurance must be placed after a peace deal was struck.
He added that the greatest assurance was ensuring the Ukrainian army was strong through the sale of weapons to European partners via NATO.
Zelensky said that his country was willing to purchase American weapons at a staggering price of USD 90 billion.
President Trump said previously that he was preparing for a meeting between Putin and Zelensky to discuss peace and end the war between their countries. (end)
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