US Secretary of State Marco Rubio played down expectations Sunday of any breakthrough at upcoming talks with Russian officials on ending the war in Ukraine.
President Donald Trump had repeatedly insisted he would end the conflict in a single day if he returned to the White House, but Rubio stressed it would “not be easy” to resolve such a long-running, bloody and complex conflict.
“A process towards peace is not a one meeting thing,” he said in an interview with the CBS network on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
Rubio is set to lead a high-level US team at the discussions with Russian officials in the Saudi capital Riyadh in the coming days.
It is still not clear if there will be any Ukrainian participation, and Rubio said he wasn’t even sure who Moscow was sending.
“Nothing’s been finalized yet,” he said, adding that the aim was to seek an opening for a broader conversation that “would include Ukraine and would involve the end of the war.”
US National Security Adviser Michael Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff are both expected to join Rubio for the Riyadh talks.
The move comes days after Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a lengthy phone call in which they agreed to start ceasefire negotiations immediately.
The call blindsided NATO allies as well as Kyiv, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky insisting there should be “no decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine.”
“Right now there is no process,” Rubio said. “One phone call does not make peace.”
Once “real negotiations” begin, then Ukraine “will have to be involved,” he added.
In an interview with the NBC network broadcast Sunday, Zelensky said Putin was a serial liar and could not be trusted as a negotiating partner.
“I don’t think in geopolitics, anyone should trust anyone,” Rubio responded.
“The next few weeks and days will determine whether (Putin) is serious or not.”