Washington – Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that “we have a long way to go” before starting the potential peace talks with Russia aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, adding that “nothing was finalized ” concerning Possible meetings possible Between us and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia.
“We are ready to follow the example of the president on this subject and to start exploring the means, if these opportunities arise, to start a process towards peace,” said Rubio on “Face The Nation with Margaret Brennan” Sunday .
Trump said last week that he had a “very productive phone call” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and announced that he was leading Rubio and other members of his national security team for “immediately” Negotiations aimed at putting an end to the Russian war with Ukraine. Trump also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Rubio, speaking of Israel where he met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Sunday, went to Saudi Arabia on Monday during the next stage of his current trip abroad. Rubio noted that his trip had been scheduled before Mr. Trump’s calls with Putin and Zelenskyy. He will be joined by the national security advisor Mike Waltz and Steve Witkoff, the Middle East envoy of Mr. Trump.
The Secretary of State declared that Putin “had expressed his interest in peace” during his call with Mr. Trump, who, according to him, clearly indicated “his desire to see the end of this conflict in a way that lasted and which protected Ukrainian sovereignty “.
Trump told journalists on Sunday that Trump Putin wants to end warAdding that he expected to meet the Russian chief in Saudi Arabia “very soon”.
When asked if he thought Putin was ready to negotiate and make concessions in order to put an end to the fighting, Rubio said that the call should be followed by an action, and that “the next few weeks and days will determine whether it is serious or not “.
“A telephone call does not solve a war as complex as it,” said Rubio. “But I can tell you that Donald Trump is the only world leader who could potentially start this process.”
Rubio, who also Met Zelenskyy On Friday, at the Munich security conference, said “We will see what will happen in the coming days”. He said that if there was an opportunity “at any time” to “start creating an opening for a wider conversation” at the end of the war, he would “explore it”.
“A process towards peace is not one thing at a meeting. This war has been going on for some time,” said Rubio. “It’s difficult, it’s complicated, it was bloody, it was expensive. So it will not be easy to put an end to a conflict like this, and there are other games at stake that have also opinions on this subject. “
The comments come under the name of Lieutenant to the retirement of General Keith Kellogg, the special American envoy for Ukraine and Russia which would be involved in any potential peace talks, said that there would be parallel traces of negotiations , with different parts, managing discussions with Russia and Ukraine separately separately separately. This perspective has disrupted Ukrainian and European officials who fear being frozen outside the negotiations between the United States and Russia.
Asked about his role in the process, Rubio said “at the moment there is no process”, while adding that he expects what there will be conversations to “determine what might look like a process “.
“It’s a bit premature,” said Rubio, saying there was no “serious conversation”.
The Secretary of State noted that if “actual negotiations” begin, Ukraine will have to “be involved”, just like European countries, adding that “we are simply not there”.
