Russia Strikes at America’s ‘Dual Character’

Moscow, February 20: Russia has strongly reacted to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s claim of being the ‘sole mediator’ in the Russia-Ukraine war. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova termed this American role as ‘dual character’, stating that it is ‘unnatural’ to continue arms supplies on one hand while claiming to pursue peace talks on the other.

Speaking to journalists on February 15 at the Munich Security Conference and subsequently in Budapest, Rubio had claimed that the US is the only nation that can bring Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table. However, he also mentioned continuing arms supplies to Ukraine and maintaining sanctions.

Commenting on this context, Zakharova described the American stance as ‘peculiar’. “On one hand, President Trump’s team inherited this conflict from the Biden administration, and arms supplies to Ukraine continue. On the other hand, the current American leadership is attempting to find a solution to the Ukrainian crisis that was created by Washington itself nearly a decade ago,” she said.

Zakharova also highlighted the fact that Russia and Ukraine have held several rounds of talks previously, with many countries facilitating them. She provided details of the talks held in February-March 2022 in Belarus’s Gomel and Brest regions, discussions in Istanbul, and the direct talks that resumed in 2025.

“During the talks held in Istanbul on March 29, 2022, both sides were close to a draft agreement for resolving the crisis. But the negotiation process was derailed after then British Prime Minister Boris Johnson rushed to Kyiv and ordered Zelensky to stop talks and continue fighting ‘to the last Ukrainian’,” she alleged.

According to the Russian spokesperson, agreements were reached on issues including prisoner exchanges and the return of bodies of fallen soldiers during three rounds of talks held in Istanbul in May, June, and July 2025. However, Zakharova claimed that Ukraine did not respond to Russia’s peace proposal and ended the talks in November 2025 citing a ‘lack of tangible progress’.

Commenting on Rubio’s statement in this context, she said, “This claim is also incorrect from a diplomatic perspective. Many countries had already brought us to the negotiating table before.”

While acknowledging America’s desire for mediation, Zakharova stated, “If someone genuinely wants to become a mediator, they must immediately stop supplying arms to one party in the conflict. Only then is genuine and effective diplomacy possible, which the Russian Foreign Ministry has consistently advocated for.”