US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after a conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that Moscow is preparing a document with demands for a ceasefire in Ukraine.
"We discussed a number of things. He explained to me on the phone that they will prepare a document containing their ideas and demands for a ceasefire, which will lead to broader negotiations," Rubio told CBS News.
The head of the US State Department noted that during the conversation he “wanted to hear Lavrov's opinion on the negotiations that took place on May 16 in Istanbul.
"They were not a waste of time. For example, there will be an exchange of prisoners. This is very good from a humanitarian point of view," Rubio believes.
Kiev will also work on its own ceasefire plan, the Secretary of State added. He expressed hope that the proposals prepared by Russia and Ukraine will be "close enough" to each other.
On Saturday, at the initiative of the American side, a telephone conversation took place between Lavrov and Rubio. The Russian minister "noted the positive role of the United States, which contributed to Kiev ultimately accepting Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposal to resume talks in Istanbul", and also confirmed Moscow's readiness to continue working together with American colleagues in this context.
Rubio stressed that the United States does not want to engage in endless negotiations to resolve the Ukrainian conflict, but is looking for progress in the next few days.
„We do not want to be in a process of endless negotiations. There must be progress, movement forward. "If we get a document in the next few days that is produced by both sides and shows that both sides are making concessions and taking a realistic and rational approach, then I think we will be positive about continuing our engagement. But if there is no productivity, then we will look at it differently," he said.
The State Department chief added that there are many other events happening in the world that the United States also needs to pay attention to. "I have said before that we are not going to be flying around the world trying to set up meetings," Rubio said.