Rubio: Trump-Putin meeting ‘only way’ to end war in Ukraine

A meeting between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is the “only way” to move forward with talks on ending the war in Ukraine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday.  

Rubio’s remarks come as a highly anticipated meeting between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Turkey was downgraded and moved to Friday, after Putin assigned low-level officials to conduct the talks.

Rubio, who also serves as Trump’s national security adviser, said he does not have high expectations for the direct Russia-Ukraine talks and will meet separately with a senior Ukrainian delegation. 

Putin initially proposed the direct talks in Turkey, while refusing Trump’s call for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire to halt the war, now in its third year. 

Rubio said Trump is impatient to end the war. Trump’s statements on Truth Social have increasingly shown frustration with Putin’s commitment to ending the fighting.

“The only way to have a breakthrough between President Trump and Putin” is for them to meet, Rubio said, adding “nothing productive” will occur until those leaders engage. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pushed for Putin to join the talks in Turkey in person. Putin made no formal announcement rejecting the offer but did not indicate he would travel to Turkey. 

Trump, on a three-country tour of the region, said Thursday that he was not surprised Putin didn’t attend because Trump, himself, was not there.  

“I actually said, ‘Why would he go if I’m not going?’” Trump told reporters in Qatar. “I would go, but I wasn’t planning to go, and I said, ‘I don’t think he’s going to go if I don’t go.” 

Rubio, speaking with reporters while on diplomatic travel in Turkey, said Trump is open to meeting with Putin.