Ukrainian and American delegations discussed the issue of territorial concessions during talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday, The Guardian reported on Wednesday, citing US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Rubio confirmed that Tuesday’s talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, covered “what a negotiation process would look like,” and included “conversations about territorial concessions.”

He said that the US will be in contact with the Russians as early as Wednesday and hopes to receive a positive response from Russia, and strongly urges the Russians to cease all military action. At the same time, the US Secretary of State added that Ukraine needs sufficient means to deter future attacks from Russia, and the Europeans need to be involved in this.

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.”

Earlier, Fox News journalist Nana Sajaia reported that the participants in the talks in Jeddah did not discuss the resignation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, nor the issue of holding elections in Ukraine.

“Source directly involved in U.S.-Ukraine talks tells me - holding elections or president Zelenskyy’s resignation WERE NOT discussed in Jeddah,” she said on X.