The United States will not provide military aid to Russia, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on March 10 in a curious comment ahead of U.S.-Ukraine talks.
Asked whether the Ukrainian delegation would push for renewed military aid during the meeting in Saudi Arabia, Rubio responded, "I can assure you this: We will not be providing military aid to the Russians."
The U.S. has been a key military supporter of Ukraine during the full-scale war. As relations between Kyiv and Washington soured after U.S. President Donald Trump took office, the new administration halted all defense assistance.
Regarding the possibility of resuming U.S. military aid to Ukraine, Rubio suggested that the freeze could be lifted if Ukraine committed to peace talks.
"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.
Ukrainian officials plan to use the Jeddah talks to push for the resumption of U.S. military aid and intelligence sharing, Financial Times reported on March 9.
U.S. delegates previously held meetings with Russian representatives in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 18 and in Istanbul on Feb. 27, where they discussed restoring bilateral relations and holding preliminary peace talks without Ukraine’s participation.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
