US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said he hopes the issue of military aid to Ukraine can be resolved. He made the comments before landing in Saudi Arabia ahead of a US-Ukraine meeting on Tuesday.

Rubio also said he wants to see what happens at the meeting, and that he is interested in finding out what the Ukrainians are thinking.

Rubio said, "We have to understand the Ukrainian position and just have a general idea of what concessions they've been willing to make because you're not going to get a ceasefire and end of this war unless those both sides make concessions."

He said they still need to discuss the details on the minerals deal, stressing that Trump wants to get the deal done, but it doesn't "necessarily have to happen tomorrow."

NHK also spoke with Volodymyr Dubovyk, an associate professor of international relations at Odesa I.I. Mechnikov National University, about the meeting.

Dubovyk said that although the minerals agreement is "not necessarily in the interest of Ukraine," the country should sign a deal with the US, even if the security guarantees are not perfect. He added that the country is still in the middle of this big war and American support is "important and vital."

The professor noted that Ukraine still has a tough road ahead to achieve peace, mainly because the Ukrainian and American sides remain far apart on how to get there.