U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was hopeful a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine can be reached soon but expressed doubt that any deal could materialize within a week, he said on April 23 in an interview with the Honestly podcast.
“I don’t know about by the end of the week. I’m hopeful that we can get to something quickly,” Rubio said. “And I remain hopeful that we can get something done because this is a terrible war and it needs to end.”
His comments come as the White House ramps up diplomatic efforts for Kyiv and Moscow to come to the table to negotiate an end to Russia's full-scale invasion. U.S. President Donald Trump declared on April 21 said that a deal between Ukraine and Russia could be struck “this week.”
In the interview, Rubio also said the U.S. understands Russia’s position better after reestablishing contact with Moscow. Former U.S. President Joe Biden cut off formal communications with the Kremlin after the start of the invasion in February 2022.
“We have a better understanding of that now because we’ve actually spoken to them after three years of not speaking to them,” he said.
Rubio also said there is “no military end to this war,” adding that “Russia’s not just going to roll over Ukraine and take the whole country, and Ukraine’s not going to push them all the way back to where they were before 2014.”
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said during a visit to India on April 23 that the U.S. had submitted a “very explicit proposal” to both Kyiv and Moscow. Vance warned that unless the two sides move forward, Washington may abandon its mediation efforts.
“We really tried to understand things from the perspectives of both Ukrainians and Russians,” he said, describing the plan as “very fair.” The proposal reportedly includes freezing current front lines and accepting that both sides will need to cede some territorial claims.
Rubio also signaled that Washington may move on, unless progress is made. “Ultimately it’s not up to us. It’s up to Russia, and it’s up to Ukraine. They have to make the decision that they’re willing to move closer to one another, and we need to start to see progress.”
Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff declined to participate in diplomatic meetings taking place in London on April 23. The talks were originally planned as a ministerial-level summit involving the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, and Ukraine, but was downgraded after Rubio’s withdrawal.
Martin Fornusek
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