On Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged that the Trump administration hasn’t made much progress toward peace deals between Russia and Ukraine following President Trump’s recent summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Rubio mentioned that some headway was made at the Alaska Summit, where Trump confidently rated his performance with Putin as “10 out of 10.”
However, during an interview on ABC’s “This Week,” Rubio was clear about the work still ahead.
“We have made progress in identifying potential areas of agreement, but there are still significant gaps,” Rubio told ABC’s Martha Radazs. “So we have a long way to go. We’re not on the verge of a peace agreement. We’re not completely there, but I think we’re moving forward.”
Trump is set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Monday. Zelensky is accompanied by European leaders expressing their support for Ukraine.
Concerns about Trump’s remarks regarding land exchanges between Ukraine and Russia have raised alarms in Europe. His comments are interpreted as implying that Ukraine might have to relinquish territory to reach a peace deal.
Rubio downplayed the lack of tougher actions announced against Russia post-summit, stating that wasn’t the meeting’s primary aim, noting that Trump had indicated stricter penalties could follow depending on progress.
As one of two U.S. officials who attended the Trump-Putin conference, Rubio emphasized that it would be impossible for Zelensky to sign any agreements without being present.
He hinted that people unaware of the discussions might not grasp the nuances, suggesting that Putin may have given Trump some concessions.
“I think we’ve made genuine progress. People discuss topics without knowing what was actually talked about. These negotiations, they’re often misconstrued in the media due to leaks,” he remarked.
In response to concerns that Trump was overly accommodating to Putin, Rubio asserted that peace can’t be achieved through hostility.
He remarked, “It won’t work if you go out and say aggressive things about one side; they’ll just walk away.”
When pressed on whether Putin had offered concessions, Rubio refrained from detailing specifics but indicated that both sides would need to show goodwill. He pointed out that Trump has indeed called for concessions from Putin.
“Concessions were indeed solicited. We pointed at Putin and said that this needs to happen,” he explained.
“Negotiations are most effective when parties feel accountable to their constituents. Everyone desires this to be engaging, but they must go back to justify and defend any agreements made,” Rubio concluded.
