Rubio made the
comments during a news conference on Oct. 22. A reporter asked Rubio what
he considered a realistic path to ending the Russo–Ukrainian war.
Rubio said the conflict was extremely complicated and that
President Donald Trump had “devoted an extraordinary amount of time” to it. He
said some people in the United States spend “all day, every day” trying to find
a way to improve the situation and overcome the differences between the sides.
“I would just say to you that that war — people keep talking
about it’s a war in Ukraine,” the secretary said.
“That war is about Donbas.
It’s about one region of the country.
It’s — at its core, it’s about 11 percent of one part of that country
that Russia wants and cannot take militarily and that Ukraine is unwilling to
give up. And they have good reasons why
they don’t want to do that — for sovereignty and their own security long term.”
Rubio said the question was whether some form of compromise
was possible or whether both sides would have to make concessions to end the
war. The secretary of state said the war could not be resolved militarily, but
only through diplomacy.
According to Rubio, the question is whether the sides can
reach an outcome in which both gain something while also making concessions and
bringing the war to an end.
“So, it’s been difficult, but I can tell you this: As hard
as it is, it is impossible to do unless both sides are at the table talking,
and we’re happy to play the mediating role in that regard,” said the secretary.