Quotes
We're not going to be sitting in a room drawing lines on a map but just get a general sense of what concessions are in the realm of the possible for them (Ukrainians)",
No wonder Rubio said before the Jeddah meeting
Strong positions on the front line and strong diplomacy must work together to achieve a just and lasting peace".
While Zelensky wrote in a social media posting late MondayThere's still more details to work out... And that would take a little bit more time"
Rubio told a reporter ... after meeting with Saudi officials on MondayAll the drone strikes in Russia tonight — on Moscow, on airports and so on — are the signal to Putin that he also must be interested in a truce in the sky that Ukraine is going to offer today during talks. Not only oil refineries,
Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Ukrainian government’s center for countering disinformation, said in a video statement
Russians can't conquer all of Ukraine and obviously it will be very difficult for Ukraine in any reasonable time period to force the Russians all the way back to where they were back in 2014,
Rubio added, referring to when Russia seized the Crimea peninsula and backed a separatist offensive in eastern Ukraine
I'm not saying that alone is enough, but it's the kind of concession you would need to see in order to end the conflict,
he told reportersThe anger isn't just towards Zelensky - it is to Yermak, too.
But a Ukrainian government adviser told the Telegraph this week
Now we think it’s necessary to discuss the most important: how to start this process,
Yermak told reporters in the lobby of Jeddah’s Ritz-Carlton hotel before the meeting
Putin has proven time and again that he is a hostile neighbor. He cannot be trusted, he can only be deterred,
she saidWe are ready to do everything to achieve peace,
Yermak told reporters as he arrived for the talks, held in an opulent room provided by the Gulf state
You always need to hope for the best but still be prepared for the worst, and we should always be ready to defend our interests,
Dmitry Peskov said at a conference, in comments reported by Russia’s Kommersant newspaperThis is an additional signal to Putin that he should also be interested in a ceasefire in the air,
said Andriy Kovalenko, a Ukrainian national security council officialDear Americans, dear Ukrainians, don’t waste this chance. The whole world is watching you in Jeddah today. Good luck
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on social media
The pause in aid broadly is something I hope we can resolve,
Rubio said Monday
We hope for practical outcomes,
Zelensky said on social media Tuesday
We have seen the Russian strategy at work, with ceasefires that unfortunately were not respected,
French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu said at the Paris Defense and Strategy ForumThe most important thing that we have to leave here with is a strong sense that Ukraine is prepared to do difficult things — like the Russians will have to do difficult things — to end this conflict,
he saidWhat we want to know is, are they interested in entering some sort of peace conversation and general outlines of the kinds of things they could consider, recognizing that it has been a costly and bloody war for the Ukrainians. They have suffered greatly, and their people have suffered greatly,
Rubio told reporters en route to Saudi Arabia
We affirm our readiness to engage in the second-phase negotiations in a way that meets the demands of our people, and we call for intensified efforts to aid the Gaza Strip and lift the blockade on our suffering people,
said Hamas spokesman Abdel-Latif Al QanouaThe important point in this meeting is to establish clearly their [Ukraine's] intentions, their desire, as they've said publicly now numerous times, to reach a point where peace is possible. And then we'll have to determine how far they are from the Russian position, which we don't know yet either,
Rubio told reporters in Jeddah on Monday