Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday on Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime” that the conflict between Ukraine and Russia can officially end if Ukraine feels “safe moving forward.”
President Donald Trump met with world leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to discuss a potential end to the conflict. While discussing Monday’s meetings, Fox News’ Jesse Watters asked Rubio if Ukraine would have to comply with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s territorial demands.
Rubio pushed back, saying that “negotiations frankly work best when they’re done privately.”
“When we have a deal, I’ll describe it to you for sure,” Rubio said. “But look, that’s why you got to give these guys space to work. They have their own constituencies, OK? They have their own considerations, and you don’t want to give away one side’s leverage in that regard. But let me just say this about it. I think everyone understands that some of the key elements to bringing this about is Ukraine has to feel safe moving forward.”
“In essence, they have to believe that at the end of this war they are in a position to never get invaded again. I think what’s also true — and I think it’s common sense, and I don’t know why it’s so hard for a lot of people to understand it — is in any negotiation to bring about the end of a war or any conflict for that matter, it’s going to require both sides to receive but also to give,” Rubio added. “In essence, one side is not going to get 100% here.”
Trump’s meeting with world leaders comes days after his summit with Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday. The long-awaited meeting follows Putin’s reluctance to hold discussions with Ukraine, despite Trump’s repeated calls for peace between the two.
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After meeting with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff on Aug. 6, reports indicated that Putin would consider halting the war in exchange for Kyiv giving up the Russian-speaking Donbas region. Zelenskyy, however, pushed back on the idea, telling reporters Tuesday, “For Russians, Donbas is a bridgehead for a future new offensive,” according to the Business Standard.
“Each side is going to have to make some concessions and, obviously, land or where you draw those lines — where the war stops is going to be part of that conversation. It’s not easy, and maybe it’s not even fair, but it’s what it takes in order to bring about an end to a war. That has been true in every war,” Rubio said. “The only wars that don’t end that way are the ones that have unconditional surrender by one side or the other, and we’re not going to see that in this conflict.”
“The president’s been very clear in the end what those lines look like are up to Putin and up to Zelensky and up to the Ukrainian side to decide what each of them can live with. We are going to be there to facilitate that and make that possible and make sure that both sides are talking,” Rubio said. “We should be proud that we have a president that’s made peace a priority in his administration.”
It is unclear what has been proposed in the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.
Following the Alaska summit, both Trump and Putin spoke to reporters, stating that talks were moving in the right direction, though no official agreement was reached. Trump said Friday in a Fox News interview that Zelenskyy and Putin are expected to meet next, suggesting he might also attend.
