U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has arrived in Turkey on May 14 ahead of peace talks planned between Ukraine and Russia.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on May 13 that Rubio will attend the peace talks alongside Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg. Trump himself will not be attending the negotiations, a U.S. official has said.
Rubio and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham met with Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha in the port city of Antalya.
"We discussed in detail the logic of further steps and shared our approaches... It is critical that Russia reciprocate Ukraine's constructive steps. So far, it has not. Moscow must understand that rejecting peace comes at a cost," Sybiha said.
Sybiha reaffirmed Ukraine's commitment to peace talks as they are set to begin on May 15.
"I reaffirmed Ukraine's strong and consistent commitment to President Trump's peace efforts and thanked the United States for its involvement. We are ready to advance our cooperation in a constructive and mutually beneficial manner.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he will attend the peace talks and invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet him.
The Kremlin has thus far refused, announcing that their delegation would be headed by presidential advisor and propaganda architect, Vladimir Medinsky.
The Russian delegation will also consist of Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, Director of Russian Military Intelligence Igor Kostyukov, and Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin.
Volodymyr Ivanyshyn
(Updated: )
