U.S. Secretary of State doubts that Putin will be satisfied with just the Donbas

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on the sidelines of the two-day G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Atlanta that there is currently no basis for claiming that a negotiated settlement to Russia’s war against Ukraine is imminent. He also expressed doubt that Russian dictator Putin would stop, even if he were to gain control of the entire Donbas region.

The U.S. official emphasized that Washington continues to explore the possibility of a diplomatic resolution to the conflict, but it is currently impossible to say that the parties are close to reaching an agreement.

According to sources among European officials, the U.S. Secretary of State also expressed doubts about the prospects of signing a peace treaty in the coming months and was skeptical about the possibility of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin attending the December G20 summit in Miami. At the same time, Rubio noted that President Donald Trump’s special envoys, notably Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, are devoting a significant amount of time to finding ways to resolve the Ukrainian issue.

Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov gave no indication during the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Atlanta that Moscow was ready for peace talks on Ukraine. This was stated by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin may hold new talks as early as November. Representatives from Washington and Moscow discussed the possibility of such a meeting.