A possible meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin "will depend largely on whether we can make some progress on ending the war in Ukraine," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
Rubio said he discussed such a meeting when he met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, telling Lavrov and Russian officials: "There will be no meeting until we understand what it will be about".
"Typically you don't have these meetings until you understand that there has been some preliminary result or some progress," Rubio told journalist Catherine Herridge in an interview aired on X.
“So I think when this meeting happens will largely depend on whether we can make some progress on ending the war in Ukraine, and if we can and this meeting is what seals the deal, I think everyone should celebrate that President Trump is a peacemaker,“ he said.
“Ultimately, we have to maintain relations with Russia whether we like everything they do or not,“ Rubio said.