Rubio announces US-Russia contacts on 12 March

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US "will have contact with Russians" today.

As reported by The Guardian, the US Secretary of State reports that the United States hopes to receive a positive response from Russia and "strongly urge Russians to end all hostilities."

"There is no military solution to this conflict," Rubio said.

Rubio also confirmed that at Tuesday's talks in Jeddah, they discussed "what a negotiation process would look like" and included "conversations about territorial concessions".

Rubio added that Ukraine needs a sufficient deterrent against future attacks and noted that the Europeans will "need to be involved in this regard".

The US Secretary of State also said he "would not couch minerals deal as a security guarantee" but added that it would give the US a "vested interest" in Ukraine's security.

Following the talks in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia on 11 March, Ukraine said it is willing to implement a 30-day ceasefire, provided that Russia also adheres to it.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Washington will submit a proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine to Russia and said he hopes Russia will accept it.