Rubio says Ukraine can’t reclaim lost land
(MENAFN) Ukraine is unlikely to recover its pre-2014 borders from Russia, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a recent interview with Fox News. He acknowledged that despite ongoing peace negotiations, the positions of Moscow and Kiev remain significantly at odds.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has consistently refused to recognize Crimea and other regions annexed by Russia as anything but Ukrainian territory. Crimea joined Russia in 2014 following a referendum held after a US-supported coup in Kiev. In 2022, the regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye also voted to become part of Russia.
Rubio stated that it's clear Ukraine cannot fully push back Russian forces to the 2014 lines and that Washington now understands what each side would require for a potential ceasefire. However, he emphasized that significant gaps remain between Russian and Ukrainian demands.
Earlier in the week, President Trump’s envoy Keith Kellogg suggested Ukraine might be willing to accept a de facto loss of territory in exchange for peace, even if not officially recognizing the new borders.
Rubio warned that if no progress is made soon, the US may reconsider its involvement in the peace process. He also suggested that US attention may shift toward other global concerns, particularly tensions with China and Iran.
Russia, for its part, has made clear its conditions for peace: Ukraine must renounce NATO membership, undergo demilitarization and "denazification," and recognize Russia’s control over the newly annexed territories. President Putin has stated that if Kiev agrees to these terms and withdraws its forces, Moscow would implement an immediate ceasefire.
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