US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed willingness to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after more than three years of war.
“Putin is saying, sure, I’ll meet with Zelenskyy – that’s a big deal. I mean, I’m not saying they’re going to leave that room best friends. I’m not saying they’re going to leave that room with a peace deal. But I think the fact that people are now talking to each other, this wasn’t happening for three and a half years. This was a stalemated war of death and destruction,” Rubio said in an interview with Fox News.
Rubio also confirmed he was present when US President Donald Trump raised the idea directly with Putin. “The President suggested that Zelenskyy and Putin meet, so we’re working on that now to set it up,” Rubio said. “If that goes well, hopefully the next step will be a meeting between Presidents Putin, Trump, and Zelenskyy, where we hope to finalise a deal.”
“President who hates war”
Rubio also spoke of Trump’s determination to broker peace, describing him as a “President who hates war” and sees it as “a waste of money and lives.” He pointed out that Trump has already mediated six agreements in the past six months and wants to achieve the same with Ukraine and Russia.
“This President hates war and he – he hates it. He thinks it’s a waste of money and a waste of lives, and he has made it a priority – President Trump has – to bring about peace. If he sees an opportunity to step in and broker a peace, he wants to do it. He’s been successful already six times in six months in achieving that, and he wants to achieve it with Ukraine and Russia as well,” Rubio said.
Asked about territorial disputes as a sticking point, Rubio declined to go into details but acknowledged that concessions on both sides would be inevitable. “In any negotiation to end a war, one side is not going to get 100 percent. Each side is going to have to make concessions. Obviously, land – where you draw those lines – will be part of that conversation.”
Rubio also underlined Trump’s unique role in the process. “President Trump is the only leader in the world who can talk to both of them and bring them together. Europeans admit that. The fact he’s willing to do it should make every American proud we have a peace President who has made peace a priority.”
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Trump on Monday, hosted Zelenskyy and top European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer, at the White House for high-stakes talks on ending the conflict, which has raged since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Trump said he had discussed security guarantees for Ukraine as part of a potential peace deal with Russia, with Europe expected to take the lead in coordinating with Washington.
Trump suggested that Putin had signalled openness to Western-backed security assurances for Kyiv, even while ruling out Ukraine’s bid to join NATO.
The development came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met Trump one-on-one in the Oval Office on Monday — their first encounter there since a tense and highly publicised fallout in February. Zelenskyy later described the discussion as their “best” meeting yet, hinting at a thaw in personal ties as well as diplomatic momentum.