Washington: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio renewed his call on Russia and Ukraine to make “concessions” that would pave the way for a truce in the three-year-old war between them. Rubio said, “The only way to end this war is through negotiations,” explaining that “negotiations, whether in the field of business, trade, or geopolitics, require concessions from both sides.”

According to National Iraqi News Agency, Rubio expressed cautious optimism about reaching a truce between the two countries, after a US envoy met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. He stressed that “there is still much work to be done, but there is reason for cautious optimism,” considering that “it will not be easy, but Washington certainly feels that it is at least closer to ending this war and establishing peace.”

He noted that the US envoy to Moscow will brief the Trump administration on the results of his talks at the end of this week, but noted that Russia and Ukraine can reach a rapprochement “very quickly if everyone unites.” Rubio met last Tuesday in Saudi Arabia with Ukrainian officials, who agreed to a truce proposal that prompted the United States to end a brief freeze on military aid and intelligence sharing with Kyiv.