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Rubio: US Ready to Help End Ukraine War07/23 06:04
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that the Trump
administration is poised to help end the "senseless war" in Ukraine but
acknowledged there is no quick path to a deal, saying diplomacy will require
sustained effort and new ideas.
MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said
Thursday that the Trump administration is poised to help end the "senseless
war" in Ukraine but acknowledged there is no quick path to a deal, saying
diplomacy will require sustained effort and new ideas.
Rubio, who held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, said
Moscow and Kyiv should have the incentive to end a "very bloody war" that has
devastated both sides.
Rubio alluded to how U.S.-mediated talks have stalled, calling them
"unsuccessful or at least unfruitful" in the past but insisted that President
Donald Trump was committed to the work "if conditions and factors have changed
to make that possible."
"That's been the challenge -- an end that both sides can accept. And we've
tried and we'll continue to try to see if we can, you know, find a middle
ground that brings this about. And we're prepared to play that role if the
opportunity presents itself," Rubio told reporters.
Rubio met Lavrov and several other leaders, including China's foreign
minister, on the sidelines of an annual gathering by foreign ministers of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Manila.
America's top diplomat said the U.S. is focused on Asia even as it steps up
fighting with Iran, seeks a pathway to end Russia's war in Ukraine and
pressures the Cuban government to make changes.
ASEAN talks focused on international conflicts
Three days of closed-door talks that started Tuesday have centered on the
escalating war in the Middle East and tensions in the South China Sea, where a
new clash flared Thursday.
"There's always going to be a concern that America is so focused on one
place that it can't focus on another," Rubio told reporters. But he said the
U.S. remains "engaged in Asia every single day," citing strong partnerships and
economic ties across the region.
After meeting with Rubio, Lavrov largely ignored questions from reporters.
The Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow said he emphasized to Rubio "the
unacceptability of further arming" Ukraine and accused European countries of
pursuing Russia's "strategic defeat."
Lavrov reiterated Russia's readiness for "a political and diplomatic
resolution of the conflict" and commitment to agreements reached at a summit
between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump in Alaska last year, the
Russian ministry said.
But Rubio said "we'll have to find new suggestions and new ideas" that are
acceptable to both sides for a peace deal. There has been no change to
Washington's military support for Ukraine, with weapons being purchased by NATO
allies and transferred to the war-ravaged country, he said.
U.S. efforts to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine war have been
overshadowed by the outbreak of the Iran war earlier this year. Renewed strikes
by Washington and Tehran have been intensifying after an interim ceasefire deal
collapsed.
"The price will continue to get higher every single night until they come to
their senses," Rubio said. He insisted Tehran is "begging" for talks but Trump
does not see the use in responding because "Iran is clearly not ready to make a
deal, at least not one they're willing to to live by."
Trump has warned Iran that the U.S. will destroy one Iranian bridge or power
plant each time Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian Foreign
Minister Abbas Araghchi responded by saying the country's defense doctrine was
an "eye for an eye."
"The president's policy is a head for an eye," Rubio said. "They will pay a
very heavy price for the things they're doing."
China defends maritime military actions
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong renewed her country's alarm over the
Chinese navy's recent test-launch of a missile from a nuclear-powered submarine
in the region, saying the lack of notification to the Philippines and Pacific
nations where the missile flew over and landed was destabilizing.
"It comes in the context of a rapid military build-up of China's nuclear
arsenal without the transparency or reassurance the region expects," Wong told
a university forum in Manila on Thursday. "This is why Australia has described
the test as provocative and destabilizing."
China has defended its actions, saying the launch was part of annual
exercises and that it gave countries in the area appropriate notice in advance.
Rubio had a long meeting Wednesday with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Rubio told reporters that he and Wang discussed a new altercation this week
between Chinese and Filipino forces in a disputed shoal in the South China Sea,
which Beijing claims virtually in its entirety. Rubio called the incident
"escalatory."
"Those need to be managed very carefully, because obviously, a conflict --
be it economic or otherwise -- between the U.S. and China would have a dramatic
global impact," Rubio said.
He also said they talked a lot about Chinese leader Xi Jinping's planned
trip in September, noting he believes Xi will have a "very positive visit when
he comes to Washington."
In Beijing, the Chinese coast guard said it took necessary measures,
including monitoring and blocking, to drive away two Philippine ships that
disregarded repeated warnings from the Chinese side in a fresh confrontation
Thursday.
China said its operations were professional and lawful and urged the
Philippines to stop its provocative actions infringing on Chinese territory.
Philippine officials did not immediately comment.
The Trump administration has repeatedly criticized China's assertive actions
in the South China Sea to the disadvantage of smaller claimant countries like
the Philippines, Washington's oldest treaty ally in Asia. Taiwan and ASEAN
members Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have also been involved in the often-tense
territorial standoffs.
ASEAN aims to conclude yearslong negotiations with China on a proposed
non-aggression pact by this year, according to a draft of a joint communiqu
seen by The Associated Press. The so-called code of conduct aims to prevent a
major conflict in the disputed waters, a key global trade route, that could
draw in the United States.
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