Rubio: Zelenskyy’s Claims Are “a Lie”

 

"US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of lying regarding Washington’s position on the Ukraine negotiations. “That is a lie,” Rubio told journalists on the sidelines of the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting near Paris. Rubio was referring to a statement made by Zelenskyy on Thursday, in which he claimed that ceding the entire Donbas region to Russia was a prerequisite for US security guarantees.

“I heard that he said that, and it is regrettable that he said that, because he knows that it is not true,” Rubio added. Zelenskyy had merely been told that “security guarantees for Ukraine will not come into effect until the war comes to an end.” This is “obvious,” Rubio said, and it had not been linked to any territorial concessions by Ukraine.

The US Secretary of State also left open the possibility that the US might divert military equipment previously earmarked for Ukraine to other destinations. “Nothing has been diverted so far, but that could happen,” Rubio said, adding: “If we need something from the US for America, we will keep it for America first and foremost.”"