Marco Rubio: Mineral deal is not "a security guarantee" but US would have a "vested interest" in protecting Ukraine
On his way to Canada to attend the G7 meeting, the Secretary of State gave some clarifications about possible peace in Ukraine.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio steps off the official plane.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that the U.S.-Ukraine mineral agreement is not an explicit "security guarantee," but implies a "vested interest" on Washington's part in protecting Ukraine and the agreement.
Rubio made a stopover in Ireland bound for Canada to attend the G7 summit after participating in Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia and closing a 30-day truce proposal. During this stopover he made some statements to the press about possible peace.
"I wouldn't couch it as a security guarantee, but certainly, if the United States has a vested economic interest that's generating revenue for our people as well as for the people of Ukraine, we'd have a vested interest in protecting it," Rubio told AFP news agency during the resupply stop.
"Certainly one of the things that provides for Ukraine's long-term prosperity and security is vibrant economic growth and development," he said.
A growing economy "gives them a tremendous amount of leverage and power and the ability to fund their own defences," he said.
Kremlin awaits formal proposal
"We assume that Secretary of State Rubio and adviser (Michael) Walz will inform us through various channels in the coming days about the negotiations that took place and the agreements reached," Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that "a high-level phone call" between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin was possible in "a fairly short time."
Before this statement, Russia launched a missile attack on the port of Odessa that left at least four dead.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will likely speak with his Russian counterpart this week after Ukraine backed a U.S. proposalfor a 30-day cease-fire with Russia.
He added that Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky will be welcomed back to the White House despite a verbal altercation between the two on Feb. 28.
Marco Rubió also reaffirmed one of his first statements after the U.S.-Russia summit in Riyadh two weeks ago, in which he said that all parties involved in the conflict should accept the truce. In this regard, he assured that Kiev's European allies will have to be involved in any eventual agreement on Ukraine. "I think they necessarily have to be involved," he declared at his stop in Ireland.
"It seems to me that the question of European sanctions is going to be on the table, not to mention what happens with frozen (Russian) assets and the like," Rubio said. "I think it's clear that for there to be peace in Ukraine, at the end of the process some decision will have to be made about what is going to be done with the sanctions," he added.
Rubio will arrive to participate in the Group of Seven foreign ministers' meeting in Charlevoix, in the province of Quebec, Canada, where he will seek to convince the club of industrialized countries to pressure Russia and Ukraine alike to make concessions for peace.
The G7 has so far been united in backing Kiev in the war unleashed by the February 2022 Russian invasion.
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