QUESTION: What do you – about the strikes overnight, the – (inaudible).
SECRETARY RUBIO: We’re just working on that. Nothing new to report to you right now. Hopefully, as I said – there were some talks going on in Qatar today, so we’ll see if we can make progress on – I think it’s a lot of talking back and forth going on about specific language in the initial document. So it’ll take a few days. The President’s expressed his desire to make it – he’s either going to make a good deal or no deal. So on that, everyone should be assured. But that may take a little while, I mean, a few more days.
QUESTION: But the strikes won’t affect that, I mean, the strike in Iran – you think they’ll be more or less likely to?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, the straits have to be open. They’re going to be open one way or the other. So they need to be open. What’s happening there is unlawful; it’s illegal. It’s unsustainable for the world; it’s unacceptable. I don’t know of any country in the world that doesn’t – the Russians are not in favor of a tolling system; the Chinese are not in favor of a tolling system. I mean, there’s no country in the world that’s in favor of a tolling system except the regime in Iran. So that’s not acceptable; that cannot happen. The straits need to be open, unimpeded, without tolls. And obviously that needs to happen immediately as soon as anything’s agreed to.
QUESTION: Can I ask you about your call with Lavrov? He said in the readout that he’s trying to – he encouraged the U.S. to withdraw staff from Kyiv. Did you talk to him about the strikes?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, they sent a notice to all the embassies, and I think he was just calling me personally to tell me – they told all the embassies to – Kyiv’s going to be a very dangerous place – Kyiv’s been a very dangerous place now for a number of years. Look, the danger in all of these wars as they continue and then they go on is that they always have the threat of escalation, of spreading into something new. So I spoke to him yesterday about that and a couple other topics, and obviously Putin wanted – had asked him to call me to relay the message directly to the President, which I did, but obviously we had already seen the notice sent out to all the diplomatic facilities. And I said right now there is no active, like, scheduled negotiations ongoing with Ukraine, but the U.S. is always prepared to play a constructive and helpful role if that opportunity presents itself.
QUESTION: What about these big Russian strikes in Kyiv, some of the biggest yet in the war?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, this is what happens with these wars. I mean, they just continue to escalate. There’s a big strike coming one way, the bigger strike coming back, and that’s how these things unravel and keep going. And it’s why the war needs to come to an end. Look, every time you see these big strikes from one side or the other, it’s a reminder of why this is a terrible war that’s now gone on longer than the Second World War, and it needs to come to an end. And the U.S. stands ready and prepared to help do whatever we can to help facilitate the end of this war. And hopefully the opportunity will present itself at some point that we can play that role again.
QUESTION: Back in Iran, I mean, the talks in Qatar, Araghchi, the —
SECRETARY RUBIO: No one else has questions? Well, I know you guys (inaudible). (Laughter.) Go ahead.
QUESTION: The talks in Qatar, the Iranian foreign minister is there, Araghchi. I mean, is there – is the U.S. going to have any sort of representation there? How are you getting the message through?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, look, I think our position is well stated. The President had a very important – I think historic – call just a couple days ago with a number of leaders from the region. I think there’s strong alignment and agreement on what a preliminary draft should look like. I think like anything with something like this, it’s going to take a couple days to settle on even down to the disagreements over a word, a sentence. So we’ll have to work through that. If there’s going to be a deal, we’re going to have to work through that. But this is – it’s either going to be a good deal or there isn’t going to be one.
Okay? Let’s go.
QUESTION: Thanks very much.
SECRETARY RUBIO: Thanks.
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