Vatican could host Ukraine-Russia peace talks, Rubio says
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stated that the Vatican is prepared to host negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, including a potential direct meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.
Source: Rubio in an interview with CBS News
Details: Rubio confirmed that the Vatican has offered to facilitate a direct meeting between the leaders of Ukraine and Russia, as well as to support other negotiation formats, including technical discussions.
Quote: "So it's a very generous offer that may be taken up on. I mean, it would be a site that all parties would feel comfortable [with]. So hopefully we'll get to that stage where talks are happening on a regular basis and that the Vatican will have the opportunity to be one of the options."
Details: When the interviewer noted that Putin did not attend the Istanbul negotiations he himself had initiated, Rubio suggested that Russia remains open to talks under the right conditions.
Background:
The new Pope Leo XIV proposed the Vatican as a platform for negotiations between Ukraine and Russia after it became clear that the talks in Istanbul would not lead to the desired result.
On 17 May, the Kremlin stated that a meeting between Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is possible, but only if certain agreements are reached by the delegations.
On 16 May, direct talks were held in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations for the first time in over three years.
Serhii Kyslytsia, a member of Ukraine's delegation at the Istanbul talks with Russia, stated that the Russian representatives, led by Vladimir Medinsky, behaved aggressively and issued direct threats to the Ukrainian side.
Russian representatives voiced several demands to the Ukrainian delegation during a closed meeting in Istanbul on 16 May, setting out the conditions under which Moscow is ready to cease fire. Among them are Ukraine's renunciation of territories and claims for reparations.
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