Moscow has long insisted that any potential peace deal should recognize the “realities on the ground”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has indicated that Ukraine will have to relinquish its goal of reclaiming former territories in order to facilitate peace negotiations with Russia.

The senior official made the remarks on Monday, ahead of a meeting between US and Ukrainian delegations set to take place in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. Several US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, earlier outlined Washington’s expectations and warned Kiev against making maximalist territorial demands.

“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,” Rubio said, according to The New York Times.

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“The most important thing that we have to leave here with is a strong sense that Ukraine is prepared to do difficult things, just as the Russians are going to have to do difficult things to end this conflict – or at least pause it in some way, shape, or form,” he added. “I think both sides need to come to an understanding that there’s no military solution to this situation.”

In 2014, Crimea voted to secede from Ukraine and join Russia following a Western-backed armed coup in Kiev, while two eastern regions declared independence, rejecting the new authorities. After the conflict escalated in 2022, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, along with the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, held referendums to join Russia. Moscow now recognizes them as its territory.

Kiev claims sovereignty over all former Ukrainian lands, insisting that the votes were “a sham” and not genuine expressions of self-determination by disenfranchised citizens. Moscow, however, asserts that the status of these regions is non-negotiable.

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On Sunday, The Financial Times reported that in Saudi Arabia, Ukraine plans to propose a partial ceasefire with Russia, covering long-range drone and missile strikes as well as combat operations in the Black Sea. The move is reportedly aimed at persuading the US to reverse its decision to freeze intelligence sharing and weapons deliveries.

Russia, however, has repeatedly stated that it will not accept a temporary ceasefire, insisting that the conflict must be resolved through legally binding agreements that address its root causes.