A possible meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin will depend primarily on progress in efforts to end the war in Ukraine. This was stated by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, quoted by "Reuters", reports News.bg.
Rubio indicated that he had discussed such a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. "There will be no meeting until we understand exactly what will be discussed," he told Lavrov and other Russian officials.
According to Rubio, the question of the meeting largely depends on whether real progress can be achieved in ending the war. After the talks in Saudi Arabia, Trump, who spoke by phone with Putin last week, said he would likely meet with the Russian president before the end of the month. Asked about the exact timing, Rubio replied: "I don't know when".
He stressed that Trump wanted to determine whether Russia was truly ready to end the conflict that began three years ago with its invasion of Ukraine. "The only way to find out is to test them - to engage them in talks and ask them: "Do you really want to end the war? What are your terms? Is there a difference between your public and private demands?", Rubio commented.
He stressed that the United States had consulted with all allies and that the only agreement so far was that there would be peace talks. "We'll see what they offer and whether they're serious about it," he added.
Trump's attempt to speed up peace talks has raised concerns among Ukraine and European allies who fear they will be excluded from the negotiation process. Tensions between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have risen in recent days, culminating in Trump's sharp statement calling Zelensky a "dictator without an election."
The rift between the two deepened after Zelensky accused Trump of falling into a Russian disinformation bubble, and the US president responded by claiming that Ukraine started the war itself.
"President Trump is disappointed with Zelensky," Rubio commented. "We support Ukraine because it affects not only our allies but also global security. In such a situation, there should be a certain level of gratitude," he stressed.
In addition, Washington is pushing Kiev to accelerate negotiations to open up Ukraine's natural resources to American investment. The United States has provided tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine, and according to Trump, investments in Ukrainian minerals can ensure that "the United States will get some of these funds back."
Rubio discussed a potential economic cooperation agreement during a meeting with Zelensky and US Vice President J.D. Vance in Munich last Friday.
"We explained to them that we are not trying to rob Ukraine, but to build a partnership that will also be a guarantee of security. If we are engaged in strategic economic projects, it strengthens our interest in Ukraine's security," Rubio said.
He added that Zelensky initially agreed to the proposal, but later publicly rejected it, which caused discontent in Washington. "I don't know why he claims that he rejected the deal, because that didn't happen," the secretary of state said.