Secretary of State Marco Rubio Suggests redirecting arms from Ukraine to the Middle East
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on Friday, March 26, that weapons intended for Ukraine could be redirected to the Middle East.
- This declaration comes as Volodymyr Zelensky expresses concern that the focus is shifting from the conflict in Ukraine to that in Iran.
It’s a statement that hasn’t gone unnoticed. According to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the United States is not ruling out diverting arms shipments intended for Ukraine for their needs in the war against Iran. “Nothing has been redirected yet but it could happen,” he told journalists after a G7 meeting near Paris on Friday, March 26, downplaying Russia’s impact on the Middle East conflict. “If we need something for America and it’s American, we will keep it first for America,” he added.
As negotiations stall to end four years of war caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky is worried that the conflict with Iran will draw Washington and the international community’s attention.
Marco Rubio accuses Zelensky of “lying”
Alongside his statements about American weapons and their destination, Marco Rubio accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of “lying” by claiming that the United States conditioned security guarantees for Ukraine on territorial concessions to Russia. “It’s a lie,” said the minister in Donald Trump’s administration. “I saw (Volodymyr Zelensky) say that, and it’s regrettable that he said it, because he knows it’s not true,” continued the US Secretary of State.
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Volodymyr Zelensky stated in an interview with AFP that the United States is pressuring Ukraine to withdraw all its troops from its eastern Donbass region to end the war. “What he was told is obvious: security guarantees will not take effect until there is an end to the war, otherwise we get involved in the conflict,” asserted Marco Rubio.
“It wasn’t accompanied by the condition to cede territories (…) I don’t know why he says these things. It’s not true,” added the US Secretary of State, usually seen as one of the strongest supporters of Ukraine within Donald Trump’s administration.
The Donbass mining basin comprises the regions of Luhansk and Donetsk. Less than 20% of this second region is still under Ukrainian troop control.
