US believes Ukraine peace ‘closer than yesterday’ – Rubio
A path to peace in the Ukraine conflict could be taking shape, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said, following a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow.
“Today was a good day,” Rubio told Fox Business following the talks on Wednesday. “We still have a ways to go, but we’re certainly closer today than we were yesterday – when we weren’t close at all.”
Rubio acknowledged that a peace deal would require difficult concessions. While “everybody wants the war to end,” he stressed that the challenge lies in agreeing on the terms.
Rubio downplayed expectations of an imminent truce, saying the exact timing “was not discussed.” But Washington now has a “better understanding” of the conditions under which Russia would be willing to agree to a settlement in the Ukraine conflict, he added.
“For the first time, perhaps, since this administration began, we have some concrete examples of the kinds of things that Russia would ask for” to agree to a peace deal, Rubio said without specifying the demands.
If the two sides can move closer, Rubio suggested that a high-stakes diplomatic summit could follow.
If we can get what the Ukrainians will accept and what the Russians will accept close enough, then I think there’s the opportunity for the president to have a meeting that includes both Putin and Zelensky to try to close this thing out.
Moscow characterized the three-hour talks with Witkoff at the Kremlin as “a very useful and constructive conversation.” Trump also praised the outcome as “highly productive,” writing on Truth Social that both countries would work to end the conflict “in the days and weeks to come.”
Moscow has said it is open to a peace deal but insists that any agreement must reflect the realities on the ground and address the root causes of the conflict.
