SHANNON: Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that an expected minerals deal would give the United States a "vested interest" in Ukraine's security, although he stopped short again of promising formal guarantees. "I wouldn't couch it as a security guarantee, but certainly, if the United States has a vested economic interest that's generating revenue for our people as well as for the people of Ukraine, we'd have a vested interest in protecting it," Rubio said to reporters on a refuelling stop in Ireland. "Certainly one of the things that provides for Ukraine's long-term prosperity and security is vibrant economic growth and development," he said. A growing economy "gives them a tremendous amount of leverage and power and the ability to fund their own defences," he said.
Ukrainian officials agreed in talks with Rubio and President Donald Trump's national security advisor Mike Waltz in Jeddah on Tuesday to back a 30-day ceasefire. The two sides also agreed to sign as soon as possible a minerals deal giving the United States access to Ukraine's natural wealth. The deal went unsigned after a disastrous White House meeting on February 28 between Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Rubio said that the United States was initiating contact with Russia on Wednesday and was gauging its response. "That's what we want to know — if they're prepared to do it unconditionally," Rubio said of the Russian response. "If the response is, 'yes', then we know we've made real progress and there's a real chance of peace. If their response is 'no', it would be highly unfortunate and it'll make their intentions clear." Trump has sharply shifted the US stance by negotiating with Russia and demanding concessions from Ukraine, stunning European allies. Rubio said Europeans would have to be involved eventually in discussions if they progress as Russia will be keen to end European sanctions. The Kremlin said on Wednesday it was waiting for the US to inform it about the details of a proposed ceasefire in Ukraine that Kyiv agreed to after talks in Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on Wednesday that US military aid deliveries to neighbouring Ukraine through Poland have resumed to previous levels following US-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia. Last week, Washington halted military assistance to war-torn Ukraine after a public clash in the White House between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. But in Jeddah talks on Tuesday Ukraine endorsed an American proposal for a 30-day ceasefire with Moscow and agreed to immediate negotiations with Russia — which prompted Trump to lift the freeze.
"I confirm that arms deliveries via Jasionka (logistics hub) have returned to previous levels," Polish Foreign Minister Sikorski said to reporters. He was speaking alongside his Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Sybiga who visited Warsaw on his way back to Ukraine from Jeddah. The United States and the European Union are top arms suppliers to Ukraine. Poland's Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said he had spoken to the commanding officer in Jasionka about what he called a "very good decision" to resume US deliveries. "We already have information today that the first shipments of equipment that were suspended last week and already delivered to Poland will be able to reach Ukraine," Kosiniak-Kamysz said to reporters. "We are fully operational and able to receive air transport and send it to Ukraine," he added.
Poland is a staunch ally of Ukraine and has advocated ramped up military aid to the country that since 2022 has been fighting Russian full-scale attack. According to Warsaw, up to 95 per cent of military aid to Kyiv passes through Poland, in particular through the Jasionka hub close to the Nato country's eastern border. — AFP
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