Secretary of State Marco Rubio signaled Sunday that this coming week could determine whether the Trump administration continues its involvement in peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, warning that time is running out to reach a deal.
“I think this is going to be a very critical week,” Rubio told NBC’s Meet the Press.
He explained that the administration would soon have to decide if efforts to broker peace should continue or if attention must shift elsewhere.
“This week is going to be a really important week in which we have to make a determination about whether this is an endeavor that we want to continue to be involved in, or if it’s time to sort of focus on some other issues that are equally, if not more, important.”
Rubio’s comments came on the heels of President Donald Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Vatican City, where the two leaders gathered before Pope Francis’ funeral.
Saturday’s meeting marked the first time Trump and Zelensky had met face-to-face since their heated Oval Office exchange back in February.
Despite their history, Zelensky characterized their latest conversation as promising, describing it as a “symbolic meeting” with the “potential to become historic.”
“We discussed a lot one on one. Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out. Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results. Thank you @POTUS,” Zelensky posted on social media.
Trump also spoke positively about the interaction, telling reporters, “We had a good meeting, it was a nice meeting — it was a beautiful meeting, I tell you, it was the nicest office I’ve ever seen.”
“It was a beautiful scene,” he added. “He was very — he wants to do something good for his country. He thinks he’s doing a good job, he’s working hard, we’ll see what happens.”
However, Trump noted that Zelensky continued to press for additional military support.
According to Trump, the Ukrainian president told him once again that “he needs more weapons,” a request Trump said has been ongoing for “three years.”
Trump added that the situation with Russia remains a point of concern, especially following recent bombings despite prior diplomatic talks.
“I’ve been surprised and disappointed that they did the bombing of those places after discussions,” he said.
Standing on the tarmac in Morristown, New Jersey, on Sunday, Trump outlined his expectations for Russian President Vladimir Putin as he prepared to board Air Force One.
He made it clear he had three demands for Putin to stop the fighting.
“Well, I want him to stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal. We have the confines of a deal, I believe,” Trump said.
“And I want him to sign it and be done with it, and just go back to life.”
Rubio reinforced that sentiment, noting that the Trump administration is approaching the symbolic 100-day milestone next week, and a successful peace deal would be a major achievement.
“The president has dedicated a tremendous amount of time and energy to this, and we think we brought the sides closer than they’ve been in a very long time. But we’re not there yet, and it needs to start happening,” Rubio said.
He later added, “We’re close, but we’re not close enough,” about reaching a deal.
In his Meet the Press interview, Rubio argued that compromise would be necessary on both sides to reach a lasting settlement.
He dismissed the idea of a purely military solution, saying, “There is no military solution to this war.
“The only solution to this war is a negotiated settlement where both sides are going to have to give up something they claim to want, and are going to have to give the other side something they wish they didn’t,” he added.
Rubio stressed that ending the conflict through negotiation is the only way to prevent further loss of life.
“That’s how you end wars, and that’s what we’re trying to achieve here so more people won’t die,” he said.
Watch Rubio’s full Meet The Press interview here:
The war between Russia and Ukraine should be handled by having Putin and Zelensky meet in a caged ring and fight bare knuckles until one of them is counted out. It’s easy for these two a-holes to keep the war going because they have no skin in the fight. Not a drop of their blood has been shed. Both of these depots seem to be about the same age. So let’s see who is standing at the end. Want to bet they are both cowards ??