Ukraine ’will have to cede territory to Russia for peace’: Rubio

The US Secretary of State says there’s no military solution to the war and Kyiv can’t force Moscow back to where they were in 2014.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio greets well-wishers upon arrival at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. Picture: AFP

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has declared Ukraine must give up land to Russia as part of any agreement to end the war, ahead of high-stakes talks with Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia.

“I think both sides need to come to an understanding that there’s no military solution to this situation,” Mr Rubio told reporters as he flew to Saudi Arabia for crunch talks set for Tuesday (local time).

“The Russians can’t conquer all of Ukraine, and obviously it’ll be very difficult for Ukraine in any reasonable time period to sort of force the Russians back all the way to where they were in 2014,” he said.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky is also in Jeddah for the talks over a potential ceasefire with Russia as he hopes Kyiv can persuade Donald Trump to restore military aid to Ukraine.

Mr Zelensky won’t be at the table for the talks but officials including Ukraine Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, and Mr Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak, will present a proposal for a “ceasefire in the sky and ceasefire at sea.”

Before landing in the Red Sea port of Jeddah, Mr Rubio said he saw promise in the proposal. It wasn’t enough for a ceasefire, he said but added: “But it’s the kind of concession you would need to see in order to end the conflict”.

Mr Rubio, who is joined in Jeddah by Mr Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, also suggested Washington hoped to resolve the military aid pause to Ukraine after Mr Trump cut off aid and intelligence in the wake of the White House blow-up between the two presidents.

“I think the notion of the pause in aid, broadly, is something I hope we can resolve,” Mr Rubio told reporters aboard his plane. “Obviously what happens tomorrow (Wednesday) will be key to that.”

He added it was important to “establish clearly Ukraine’s intentions” and to clarify that Ukraine “is prepared to do difficult things, like the Russians will”.

No Russian officials will be at the talks but it has been reported that Mr Witkoff will travel to Moscow this week to meet Vladimir Putin.

There are also hopes that Mr Zelensky’s presence in Jeddah means he is ready to sign an agreement to give America access to Ukraine’s minerals in return for military aid.

Mr Witkoff said the signs were “very very positive” that Mr Zelensky would sign the minerals deal this week.

The London Times reports that Sir Keir Starmer had spoken to Mr Trump by phone and assured him “that UK officials had been speaking to Ukraine officials over the weekend and they remain committed to a lasting peace”.

The UK Prime Minister is preparing to host virtual talks at the weekend among leaders of nations willing to help support a ceasefire in Ukraine.

The meeting “will build on the Lancaster House summit,” his spokesman said of the online talks, which come after a summit of European and other leaders in London last month aimed at shoring up support for Kyiv.

The so-called “coalition of the willing” is said to include about 20 countries.

Mr Zelensky on Monday said Ukraine wants peace, insisting Russia was the sole reason that the war was carrying on.

“Ukraine has been seeking peace since the very first second of the war, and we have always said that the only reason that the war is continuing is because of Russia,” he wrote on social media.

President Volodymyr Zelensky is welcomed by Saudi deputy Mecca Governor Prince Badr bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz (C-R) upon his arrival to Jeddah Picture: Ukrainian Presidential Service/AFP

Mr Zelensky met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto Saudi leader, on Monday, before his officials sit down with the Americans.

He said Ukraine is “fully committed to constructive dialogue”, but wants its interests to be “taken into account in the right way”.

“We hope for results, both in terms of bringing peace closer and continuing support,” Mr Zelensky said in his evening address on Sunday.

In Jeddah, the port city close to Islam’s holiest sites in Mecca and Medina, dozens of Ukrainian and Saudi flags flew on a main roundabout near the airport and on thoroughfares.

Flags of Saudi Arabia and Ukraine line the King Abdulaziz Road in the Saudi Red Sea port city of Jeddah ahead of a visit by the Ukrainian President. Picture: AFP