Rubio says "we have a long ways to go" before talks on ending Russia-Ukraine war
Washington — Secretary of State Marco Rubio said "we have a long ways to go" before commencing any potential peace talks with Russia aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, adding that "nothing has been finalized" regarding possible upcoming meetings between U.S. and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia.
"We stand ready to follow the president's lead on this and begin to explore ways, if those opportunities present itself, to begin a process toward peace," Rubio said on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on Sunday.
On Monday morning, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce confirmed that Rubio, along with two other senior Trump administration officials, would meet the following day in Riyadh with a Russian delegation.
Mr. Trump said last week that he had a "lengthy and highly productive phone call" with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The president announced that he was directing Rubio and other members of his national security team to "immediately" begin negotiations aimed at ending Russia's war with Ukraine. Mr. Trump also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Rubio, speaking from Israel where he met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, landed in Saudi Arabia Monday. The top U.S. diplomat noted that his trip had been scheduled before Mr. Trump's calls with Putin and Zelenskyy. He was joined by national security adviser Mike Waltz and Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump's Middle East envoy.
The secretary of state said Putin had "expressed his interest in peace" during his call with Mr. Trump, whom he said had made clear, "his desire to see an end of this conflict in a way that was enduring and that protected Ukrainian sovereignty."
On Sunday, Mr. Trump told reporters that Putin wants to end the war, adding that he was expecting to meet with the Russian leader in Saudi Arabia "very soon."
Asked whether he believes Putin is ready to negotiate and make concessions to bring an end to the fighting, Rubio said the call must be followed by action, and that "the next few weeks and days will determine whether it's serious or not."
"One phone call does not solve a war as complex as this one," Rubio said. "But I can tell you that Donald Trump is the only leader in the world that could potentially begin that process."
Rubio, who also met Zelenskyy at the Munich Security Conference on Friday, said "we'll see what happens over the next few days."
"A process towards peace is not a one-meeting thing. This war has been going on for a while," Rubio said. "It's difficult, it's complicated, it's been bloody, it's been costly. So it will not be easy to end a conflict like this, and there are other parties at stake that have opinions on this as well."
The comments come as retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, the U.S. special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, who would be involved in any potential peace talks, indicated that there would be parallel tracks of negotiations, with different parties handling talks with Russia and Ukraine separately. That prospect has unsettled Ukrainian and European officials who fear being frozen out of negotiations between the U.S. and Russia.
Asked about his role in the process, Rubio said, "right now there is no process," adding that he expected follow-up conversations to "figure out what a process" might look like.
"It's a bit premature," Rubio continued, saying there hasn't been any "serious conversation."
The secretary of state noted that if "real negotiations" begin, Ukraine will "have to be involved," as will European countries, adding that "we're just not there yet."
