According to him, both Ukraine and Russia should be involved in the negotiations, but the discussions must start with the Russians.
"That’s why we met with them last week, and the main question of that meeting was: 'Are you interested in ending this conflict or not?' Many people do not know the answer to this question. If you talk to someone from Europe, they will tell you that [illegitimate President of the Russian Federation Vladimir] Putin is not interested in ending the war. They [the Russian delegation] said they would be [interested] under the right conditions," Rubio explained.
The conditions that the Russians mentioned were not discussed by the parties at the meeting, the Secretary of State stated.
"Therefore, the next step will be to meet with them again at some point, with the right group of people in the room – and start determining what is needed for Russia to stop the war. And obviously, we need to ask Ukraine the same question, because you cannot end the war if both sides do not agree to it," he added.