Rubio says Witkoff-Zelensky meeting was positive, proposals to go to Russia

MUMBAI: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that the meeting between US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was positive, and that Witkoff would brief Russia on its outcome.

Zelensky had travelled to the Norwegian capital, Oslo, on Tuesday to meet Witkoff. Ukraine is trying to improve relations with Washington after tension over US military aid, intelligence sharing and access to the military version of Starlink.

Speaking to journalists during a visit to India, Rubio said nothing unexpected had come up in the talks. He said Witkoff would go to St Petersburg with these proposals and talk to the Russian side to see whether progress was possible. Two sources told Reuters that Witkoff arrived in St Petersburg on Wednesday, where he is due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Rubio denied reports that the US government had played a role in slowing SpaceX’s Starlink service for the Ukrainian military. He said neither the president nor any US agency had asked for a change to the system. He said the government could not direct a private company on its decisions, because the matter was covered by a private commercial contract.

SpaceX chief Elon Musk said last week that the systems were owned and controlled by the US government, so the US military or the president decided on speed or usage limits.

Under President Donald Trump, the US has largely halted direct arms supplies to Ukraine. However, under the “PURL” programme, European countries can buy US weapons for Kyiv.