Control of Donetsk is ‘one remaining item’ in Ukraine-Russia peace negotiations, Rubio says

Negotiations to end the war between Russia and Ukraine have stumbled over the question of which country will have sovereignty over Donetsk.

Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the future of the Ukrainian oblast is one of the few remaining hurdles in the negotiations, which he described as a “fluid situation” and “moving very quickly.”

“I think the one remaining item remains the one you’re all familiar with — that is territorial claim on Donetsk in particular,” Rubio told the committee. “I know there is active work going to see if both sides’ views on that can’t be reconciled. It’s still a bridge we haven’t crossed.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a Senate Foreign Relations