The US top diplomat has dismissed Vladimir Zelensky’s claims Washington had pressed Kiev into ceding Donbass
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. © Getty Images / PA / Michael Kappeler
[RT] 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.