US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine by phone with European partners, the State Department said, quoted by Reuters, BTA reported.
Rubio spoke with the foreign ministers of Britain – David Lamy, Ukraine – Andriy Szybiga, Finland – Elina Valtonen and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaia Kallas, a spokesman for the US State Department said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Szybiga said that Ukraine was grateful to Rubio for his efforts, as well as to US President Donald Trump for his "peacemaking leadership". The minister added that for Kiev the key issue of security guarantees.
"I reiterated Ukraine's position that security guarantees must be concrete, legally binding and effective. They must be comprehensive, encompassing military, diplomatic, legal and other levels," Szybiga wrote in Ex. "We all share the belief that the Ukrainian army is the fundamental level of all such guarantees, therefore its maximum strengthening is our top priority."
Following his separate summits with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders, Trump asked Rubio to lead negotiations on providing security guarantees to Ukraine.