Editor’s Note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 14, Presidential Office Spokesperson Serhii Nykyforov told the media.
Both Zelensky and Rubio addressed the conference in separate speeches earlier in the day. Zelensky stressed Ukraine’s commitment to the ongoing peace negotiations among Kyiv, Moscow, and Washington, but said territorial concessions to Russia would not lead to peace.
Rubio also acknowledged the the question of control over Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region has not been resolved in the current negotiations.
Zelensky met privately with Rubio following his speech and press briefing. Neither party has yet commented publicly on the discussion.
The day before the meeting, U.S. President Donald Trump said that Zelensky needs to “get moving” to secure a peace deal with Russia.
“Russia wants to make a deal and Zelensky is going to have to get moving, otherwise he’s going to miss a great opportunity,” Trump claimed. “He has to move.”
When asked about Trump’s comments, Zelensky acknowledged on Feb. 14 that the U.S. president may be “preparing (the) atmosphere” ahead of the upcoming peace talks in Switzerland.
The next round of trilateral talks is set to take place in Geneva on Feb. 17–18.
“Not losing our dignity, we can move,” Zelensky said.
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