ANKARA, May 15. /TASS/. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine cannot be solved militarily, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
"There is no military solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. This war is going to end not through a military solution, but through a diplomatic one," the top US diplomat said upon his arrival in Antalya for an informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers.
Rubio also noted that the situation around the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict remains complicated, but the US hopes that progress will soon be made in the negotiation process.
On May 11, Vladimir Putin, speaking to reporters in the Kremlin, suggested that the Kiev authorities resume without preconditions the direct talks Ukraine broke off in 2022, proposing to launch a dialogue on May 15 in Istanbul. In turn, Vladimir Zelensky said that he would arrive in Istanbul on Thursday. His statement came after US President Donald Trump urged Ukraine to immediately agree to the talks proposed by the Russian leader. Earlier, Zelensky had conditioned talks with Moscow on the introduction of a month-long ceasefire.
A White House official said on May 13 that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg would travel to Istanbul.