The top US diplomat on Thursday told his counterparts from the Big Four of Western Europe – France, Germany, Italy and the UK – that European leadership was “critical” for getting Russia and Ukraine to talk peace in good faith.
Marco Rubio met with the other Transatlantic Quint Foreign Ministers – Jean-Noël Barrot (France), Johann Wadephul (Germany), Antonio Tajani (Italy), and David Lammy (the UK) on the sidelines of the NATO Informal Ministerial Meeting in Antalya, reports Kyiv Post’s correspondent currently traveling with Rubio.
The informal name “Quint” is diplomatic shorthand for the five G7/G20 nations that are also members of NATO and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which includes the US, the UK, France, Germany, and Italy.
The meeting came as Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was quoted in the Kremlin media as accusing Western European countries of “not really seeking peace” in Ukraine.
According to State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce, Rubio briefed the Transatlantic Quint ministers on US President Donald Trump’s “efforts to halt the senseless bloodshed in Ukraine and emphasized that European leadership is critical for getting Russia and Ukraine to negotiate in good faith for a swift and durable peace settlement.”
“The Secretary and Foreign Ministers agreed on the urgent need to increase NATO burden-sharing and European defense spending,” Bruce said in a readout of the meeting.
Rubio also stressed that US defense companies are integral to the transatlantic industrial base and should not be sidelined in Europe’s rearmament efforts.
They also discussed shared priorities, including preventing Iran from developing or obtaining a nuclear weapon and countering China’s influence, according to the spokesperson.
Rubio also met with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan Thursday afternoon to thank him for Ankara’s role in hosting critical Ukraine talks as well as the NATO meeting.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the ministerial, Fidan said that both Russia and Ukraine must “compromise,” in order to achieve peace.
If the parties’ positions are harmonized and trust is established, “We have enough reasons to be hopeful,” he said.
In the meantime, several Western diplomats have expressed their disappointment that Russian leader Vladimir Putin has dodged the bilateral peace talks that he himself proposed, instead opting to send low-level delegates to the discussion table.
The Kremlin’s delegation is led by presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky.
“President Zelensky is here in Turkey, ready to talk peace, whereas Vladimir Putin has sent a low-level delegation. Just to play for time,” Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told reporters at the NATO ministerial, adding, “We hope that the President of the United States sees this mockery for what it is and draws the right conclusions.”
Trump, meanwhile, told reporters Thursday afternoon that nothing would happen with any prospective peace talks until he and his Russian counterpart discuss it directly.
“But we’re going to have to get it solved because too many people are dying,” Trump said aboard Air Force One just before landing in Dubai.
Rubio is expected in Istanbul on Friday to take part in Ukraine talks despite Russia’s failure to send a top-level delegation having reduced optimism for any quick deal.