Germany's Wadephul to urge Rubio to take more active role on Ukraine

BERLIN, Aug 24 - German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul plans to speak to his U.S. counterpart, Marco Rubio, by phone on Monday to urge him to become more personally involved in diplomatic efforts related to the war in Ukraine, he told radio broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.Wadephul, who was recently in Ukraine, told the broadcaster that U.S. diplomacy had so far been handled largely by presidential envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff."I may be able to encourage him (Rubio) myself to do more there," the German minister said, adding that Berlin was pursuing other channels to help restart negotiations.Germany is in contact with a number of countries, including Turkey, several Gulf states and Egypt, which maintain closer ties with Russia than most European countries, Wadephul said.Negotiations between Russia and the U.S. to bring about an end to the conflict in Ukraine have largely stalled amid the war in Iran, and the Kremlin said last week that it had no information yet on a possible next visit by Kushner and Witkoff.Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov had said in an interview on Friday that Russia was ready to listen to Rubio's new ideas and continue dialogue with Washington. REUTERS