US may resume military aid to Ukraine if talks in Saudi Arabia go well: Rubio

The US may resume military aid to Ukraine if talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday go well, said Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

"I think all the notion of the pause in aid broadly is something I hope we can resolve. Obviously, I think what happens tomorrow will be key to that," Rubio told reporters Monday.

His remarks came en route to Saudi Arabia, where a meeting between US and Ukrainian officials will take place Tuesday to discuss ways to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

He said the Ukrainians are already receiving all defensive intelligence information "as we speak."

"Yeah, I mean, all of that came about because we felt that they were not committed to any sort of peace process or not interested in negotiations," Rubio said, when asked whether the US is prepared to resume military assistance to Ukraine.

"If that changes, then obviously our posture can change. But I am not going to prematurely announce anything. Hopefully, we have a really good meeting tomorrow," he added.

Turning to the prospect of a minerals deal between the US and Ukraine, Rubio said it is on the table, but it's not the main topic on the agenda of Tuesday's meeting.

"That's continuing to be worked on. It's not part of this conversation per se…Tomorrow can be successful without it. It's certainly a deal the president wants to see done, but it doesn't necessarily have to happen tomorrow," he said, adding there are still more details to work out.

- 'Only solution to war is diplomacy'

Rubio will meet with Ukrainian officials for the first time since President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy engaged in a fiery Oval Office exchange last month in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance repeatedly berated Zelenskyy, alleging he is ungrateful for years of American military and economic aid for his war-ravaged nation.

Zelenskyy departed the White House following the argument, and a planned signing ceremony for a deal on critical minerals and press conference were canceled. ​​​​​

"I think both sides need to come to an understanding that there is no military solution to this situation.

"The Russians can't conquer all of Ukraine, and obviously it'll be very difficult for Ukraine in any reasonable time period to sort of force the Russians back all the way to where they were in 2014," Rubio said.

The only solution to the war is diplomacy and getting both Russia and Ukraine to a table where that is possible, he added.

"The 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 are going to have to do difficult things, to end this conflict or at least pause it in some way, shape or form," Rubio said.

Saudi Arabia previously hosted a meeting on Feb. 18, bringing Rubio together with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to explore peace prospects for Ukraine.

On Feb. 24, 2022, Russia launched a military offensive against Ukraine. Moscow demands that Kyiv abandon aspirations to join Western military alliances as a condition for peace, a stance Ukraine views as “interference” in its sovereignty.