Trump-Putin assembly relies on progress on ending struggle, Rubio says

A attainable assembly between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will largely rely on whether or not "we will make any progress" on ending the struggle in Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated in an interview with journalist Catherine Herridge aired on X on Feb. 20.

Rubio mentioned a possible Trump-Putin assembly together with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Saudi Arabia, the U.S. secretary of state stated.

Trump stated he would "in all probability" meet Putin earlier than the tip of February. When requested if he anticipated the assembly later in 2025, the U.S. secretary of state replied that he didn’t know the timing.

"There isn’t going to be a gathering till we all know what the assembly goes to be about," he stated.

American and Russian delegations met in Riyadh on Feb. 18. No concrete choices on peace talks have been introduced following the talks, however Ukraine's exclusion from the assembly sparked alarm in Kyiv and Europe.

Rubio voiced uncertainty about whether or not Moscow was severe about ending the struggle, including that Trump needed to know the reply earlier than a attainable assembly.

"The one manner is to check them, to mainly have interaction them and say, okay, are you severe about ending the struggle, and if that’s the case, what are your calls for? Are your public calls for and your personal calls for totally different?" Rubio stated.

"It might end up that they don’t wish to finish the struggle. I don’t know; we’re going to search out out."

Rubio stated the need for peace talks was "the one factor" the U.S. and Russia agreed on.

"What they (Russia) provide, what they're prepared to surrender, what they're prepared to contemplate will decide whether or not they're severe about peace or not," he added.

Following U.S.-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia, Rubio informed alarmed European officers that the Trump administration has no plans to impose the phrases of any bilateral agreements with Russia on Ukraine and Europe, the New York Instances reported on Feb. 21, citing an obtained abstract of the decision.

Based on Rubio, Washington clearly understood that Russia may attempt to use the talks to separate the West or to weaken Moscow's isolation on the planet, in response to the NYT. He additionally reportedly informed European companions that Washington wouldn’t carry U.S. sanctions in opposition to Russia and not using a marked change in Russia's stance, however he didn’t rule out a restricted easing of some sanctions if Moscow took the steps the U.S. administration needed.

Trump has pushed to mediate a peace settlement between Ukraine and Russia whereas utilizing more and more hostile rhetoric towards Kyiv. After accusing Ukraine of beginning the struggle, Trump dubbed President Volodymyr Zelensky a "dictator with out elections."

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