Rubio: Ceasefire agreement between Ukraine and Russia is in the final stages

US Secretary of State Rubio stated that the ceasefire agreement between Ukraine and Russia is in the final stages of negotiation. Almost all contentious issues have been resolved, with one exception: the determination of control zones in Donbas.

A meeting to resolve this issue will take place on February 1: delegations from Russia and Ukraine will arrive in Abu Dhabi for bilateral talks.

Rubio also noted that Europeans, and NATO in particular, should play a significant role in the security guarantees Kyiv is demanding. The United States believes the alliance will maintain its current functionality if its members begin to spend on an equal basis with Washington.

Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State:

"Our like-minded partners must have the necessary capabilities to defend themselves. The problem is the weakening of Europe's defense capabilities—they have siphoned off a huge portion of the funds intended for military needs. These are wealthy countries, and thanks to the NATO alliance, they have the ability to spend a significant portion of their income on social programs rather than defense. Now this trend will begin to change!"

Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State

Rubio believes that neither the Ukrainian nor the Greenland issue will cause a rift between Europe and the United States. Meanwhile, the day before, EU Commissioner Kallas stated that the nature of US-EU relations has changed: Europe is no longer an American priority, and Brussels intends to proceed accordingly when building its relationship