Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be speaking to the media during the refueling halt at Shannon Airport in Shannon, Ireland on March 12, 2025, travelling from Saudi Arabia’s meeting with Ukraine to attend a G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Canada.
Saul Roeb | Via Reuters
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said President Donald Trump has yet to fine Russia for his continued war with Ukraine as the White House still hopes that diplomacy will end the war.
“The moment you start something like that, you’re walking away from it,” Rubio said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Rubio said the White House will be “very important” next week as it will make “determinations about whether this is an effort we want to continue to be involved.”
“There are reasons to be optimistic, but there are reasons to be realistic,” Rubio said.
“Through the whole process, it’s about both sides being really peaceful and deciding how close they are, or how far they are, after 90 days of effort here… that’s what we’re trying to decide this week,” Rubio said of the negotiations.
Rubio’s comments are as Trump is putting pressure on Russia and Ukraine to reach a peace deal. Trump met with Ukrainian President Voldimir Zelenki on Saturday, just before he saw the possibility of more severe sanctions on Moscow.
Rubio said Trump has “made real progress” by ending the war, but “the last few steps on this journey are always the most difficult and need to happen soon.”
“Like I said, if that doesn’t happen, then we can’t devote our time and resources to this effort,” he added.
Trump on Saturday questioned whether Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to “stop the war” against Ukraine.
“Maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just bashing me and makes me think we have to deal with it differently through “banks” or “secondary sanctions”!!!” Trump wrote about the society of truth.
His post came shortly after the White House held a personal meeting with Zelenskyy in Rome, which he described as a “productive discussion.”
