Trying to get Putin to negotiating table in peace talks: Marco Rubio

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has weighed in on the ongoing discussions surrounding the potential for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, noting that the primary goal at the moment is to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, ABC News reported.

Speaking in an interview with George Stephanopoulos of ABC this week, a weekly news magazine show of ABC News, Rubio emphasised that any security guarantees for Ukraine are contingent upon the establishment of peace. Rubio, speaking on the topic, noted that security assurances could only be meaningful if a peace agreement is reached first.

 

In his remarks, Rubio said, "Well, the security guarantees - which I actually like to call deterrence - is all contingent upon there being peace. Everybody is saying security guarantees to secure the peace. You first have to have a peace. We don't even know if the peace is possible."

"And that - this was understood by the Ukrainians. It was explained to them repeatedly, and that is here's our strategy, we're trying to get Putin to a negotiating table. But the question now is, can we get them to a table to negotiate? That's our goal," he added.

Highlighting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's actions in the Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump on Friday (local time), Rubio affirmed, "Don't do anything to disrupt that. And that's what Zelenskyy did, unfortunately, is he found every opportunity to try to Ukraine-splain on every issue, then he confronts Vice President JD Vance. When the Vice President says the goal here is diplomacy, he immediately jumps in and challenges the Vice President - well, what kind of diplomacy?"

He acknowledged the complexities involved, stating, "We all understand that Putin is not going to be an easy negotiator in this regard. But we have to start the process to see if something is even possible," as per ABC News.

"I just don't understand. The Biden administration berated Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israelis, put all kinds of conditions and pressure on them to try to get a ceasefire. In this particular case, we've been nice by comparison. And all we're trying to do here is figure out whether peace is possible," he said.

"Shouldn't we at least try to see if there is a way to end this war in a way that's acceptable to both sides and is enduring and sustainable?" he concluded.