Rubio spoke of a “chasm” between Russia and Ukraine over Donbas

As part of the negotiations to settle the conflict in Ukraine, active work is under way on resolving the issue of the status of Donbas.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this during a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Reuters reports.

“We still have to cross that bridge. There is still a gulf [between the parties to the conflict], but at least we have managed to narrow a number of issues down to one central issue, and it is obviously very difficult,” Rubio said.

The secretary of state also clarified that U.S. representatives will likely take part in the next round of talks on Ukraine. However, U.S. President’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner—who were present at the previous meeting—will not participate this time.

Asked whether Washington and Kyiv had agreed on security guarantees for Ukraine, Rubio replied:

“I think you can say that from our side an agreement has been reached. Of course, there is still the Russian side. And naturally, any security guarantees will take effect [only] after the conflict ends.”

As the Financial Times previously reported, citing sources familiar with the negotiations, Washington hinted that Kyiv must accept the loss of Donbas both to receive U.S. guarantees and to obtain arms supplies in peacetime.

A source in Kyiv told the newspaper at the time that the American side is “using the guarantees … to push Ukraine” toward concessions that could make “Russia sit down at the negotiating table.” After the Abu Dhabi talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv does not intend to abandon its claims to the territories, and that the United States must also be willing to compromise.

The White House denied the report, calling it an outright lie.

“It’s unfortunate that the Financial Times allows malicious actors to lie anonymously in order to undermine the peace process, which is in excellent shape after the historic trilateral meeting held this weekend in Abu Dhabi,” said Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly.

The Russian authorities are demanding that Ukrainian troops withdraw from Donbas to end the conflict.

“Ukraine’s troops will leave the territories they occupy—then the fighting will stop. If they don’t leave, then we will achieve this through military action,” President Vladimir Putin said earlier.

Russia annexed Donbas, as well as the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, in the autumn of 2022 following referendums.