US Secretary of State Rubio discusses war in Ukraine with European counterparts

WASHINGTON – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with his European counterparts on Aug 25 and discussed diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the war in Ukraine, the State Department said.

Mr Rubio spoke to British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen and European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, among others, a spokesperson for the US State Department said in a statement.

Mr Sybiha said that Ukraine was grateful to Mr Rubio for his efforts and to US President Donald Trump for his “peacemaking leadership”. He added that security guarantees for Ukraine were key.

“I reiterated Ukraine’s position that security guarantees must be concrete, legally binding, and effective. They should be multidimensional, including military, diplomatic, legal, and other levels,” Mr Sybiha said on X.

“We all share the conviction that the Ukrainian army is the fundamental level of any such guarantees, therefore its maximum strengthening is our top priority.”

Mr Trump, after his separate

summits with Russian President Vladimir Putin

and later

with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky

and European leaders, has asked Mr Rubio to lead talks on providing Ukraine with security guarantees. REUTERS