The proposed US Secretary of State in Donald Trump's administration - Marco Rubio, today called for “bold diplomacy” by Washington to end Russia's war in Ukraine, reported Agence France-Presse, quoted by BTA.
“This war must end and our desire for its end must be official US policy“, he said at his Senate hearing.
The current Republican senator from Florida confirmed that Kiev's main problem is not “that it runs out of money, but above all, that it runs out of Ukrainians“.
“The truth is that in this conflict there is no option in which Russia takes over all of Ukraine“, Rubio said. "But it's also unrealistic to believe that a country the size of Ukraine, no matter how capable, can push these people back to where they were the day before the invasion in 2022," he added.
Donald Trump promised to end the conflict within "24 hours" after returning to the White House on January 20, sparking fears in Kiev that he could be forced to make major concessions in exchange for peace. Moscow has made progress in recent months while Ukraine's military is exhausted and still lacking resources, AFP noted.
Marco Rubio also said today that "the role of the United States and NATO in the 21st century" should be questioned.
He acknowledged the importance of the North Atlantic Alliance during the Cold War, but said it was important for the US to have “not just military allies“, but “military allies capable of defending their region“.
In early January, Donald Trump said that NATO countries should increase their defense budgets to 5%.