US state secretary Marco Rubio told reporters that a sufficient deterrent to keep Ukraine safe from future aggression would “have to be a part of the conversation” if the US-led peace process gets to the next stage and formal negotiations with Russia.

Axar.az reports citing the Guardian, speaking to reporters at Shannon Airport in Ireland, where he briefly stopped for refuelling on the way back to the US, Rubio also said that Europeans are likely to have a role to play as he “would imagine” that Russians would raise the issue of EU sanctions on Russian economy as something they want removed as part of the talks.

Rubio also said the US-Ukraine minerals deal would not form a direct security guarantee for Ukraine, but he said that the US “would have a vested interest in protecting it if it were to be challenged or threatened.”

He said the US administration was “happy” that Ukraine backed the process, and the focus was now on Russia’s answer. He expected the US to “have contact” with Russia on Wednesday.

“If they say no, it’ll tell us a lot about what their goals are and what their mindset is, but I don’t want to go into that before they’ve even answered us,” he said.