U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the media throughout a refueling cease at Shannon Airport in Shannon, Eire, March 12, 2025, as he travels from talks with Ukraine in Saudi Arabia to attending a G7 Overseas Ministers assembly in Canada.
Saul Loeb | By way of Reuters
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated President Donald Trump hasn’t but imposed penalties on Russia over its ongoing conflict with Ukraine as a result of the White Home continues to be hoping diplomacy can finish the conflict.
“The minute you begin doing that sort of stuff, you are strolling away from it,” Rubio stated Sunday on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press.’
Rubio stated that the approaching week might be “very essential” for the White Home because it makes a “dedication about whether or not that is an endeavor that we need to proceed to be concerned in.”
“There are causes to be optimistic, however there are causes to be lifelike,” Rubio stated, including: “We’re shut, however we’re not shut sufficient.”
“All through this course of, it is about figuring out, do each side actually need peace and the way shut are they or how far aside they’re after 90 days of effort right here … that is what we’re making an attempt to find out this week,” Rubio stated of negotiations.
Rubio’s feedback come as Trump is ramping up stress on Russia and Ukraine to succeed in a peace deal. Trump met Saturday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, simply earlier than floating the potential of harder sanctions towards Moscow.
Rubio stated that Trump has “made actual progress” in nearing an finish to the conflict, however “these final couple steps of this journey have been at all times going to be the toughest ones, and it must occur quickly.”
“We can not proceed, as I stated, to dedicate time and sources to this effort if it isn’t going to come back to fruition,” he added.
Trump on Saturday questioned whether or not Russian President Vladimir Putin needs to “cease the conflict” towards Ukraine.
“It makes me assume that possibly he does not need to cease the conflict, he is simply tapping me alongside, and must be handled otherwise, via “Banking” or “Secondary Sanctions?” Too many individuals are dying!!!” Trump wrote on Fact Social.
His put up got here simply after he had a non-public assembly with Zelenskyy in Rome, which the White Home described as a “productive dialogue.”
