Rubio announced the topic for the next meeting with the Russians.

The Secretary of State discussed this in an interview with Breitbart.

According to him, as U.S. President Donald Trump aims to end the Russia-Ukraine war, both sides need to be brought to the negotiating table. Furthermore, the initial discussions should be with the Russians, which is why, he mentioned, U.S. representatives met with them in Saudi Arabia.

During these talks, the main issue was Russia's willingness to conclude the war. Russian representatives indicated that they were open to it, but under certain conditions, says Rubio.

“We did not discuss what those [conditions] were. The next step is to meet with them again at an appropriate time, with the right group of people in the room, and start determining what Russia is willing to concede to end the war?” he stated.

Additionally, the same question needs to be posed to Ukraine, as “it is impossible to stop the war if both sides do not want to.” The American Secretary of State emphasized that even if the peace process takes “days, weeks, or longer,” the U.S. will initiate it.

Recall that earlier Trump stated that the second round of meetings between U.S. and Russian representatives will take place on February 25. Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov denied that a new meeting would occur on that specific date, although he had previously mentioned that it was planned for late February to early March.

U.S. and Russia Negotiations

On February 18, a meeting took place in the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, between American and Russian delegations. Bloomberg reported that the Saudi prince suggested inviting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to these talks, but representatives from the U.S. and Russia insisted on a bilateral meeting.

After the negotiations, Russian negotiators stated that they went “fairly well” and that the teams from Russia and the U.S. would “in due time” begin contacts regarding Ukraine. Among other things, the U.S. and Russia agreed to restore the staffing of their embassies in Washington and Moscow, respectively.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized the negotiations in Saudi Arabia, noting that they had “the same mood” as the Russian ultimatum at the beginning of the full-scale invasion. He also postponed his visit to Saudi Arabia until March.