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WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday said neither Ukraine nor Russia is anywhere close to surrendering, meaning a negotiated settlement is the only realistic way to stop the bloodshed.
“Wars end generally in one of two ways: surrender by one side or a negotiated settlement,” Rubio told reporters at a lengthy year-end briefing– as US-led talks were set to stretch into the weekend in Miami.
“We don’t see surrender anytime in the near future by either side, and so only a negotiated settlement gives us the opportunity to end this war.”
Rubio laid out the assessment as Russian President Vladimir Putin in his own four-hour-long press conference insisted he would accept nothing short of Ukraine’s unconditional capitulation, fueling doubts about whether the Kremlin is serious about compromise.
“The only thing I want to say is that we have always said this: We are ready and willing to end this conflict peacefully, based on the principles I outlined last June at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and by addressing the root causes that led to this crisis,” Putin said, referring to his demands that Ukraine surrender its entire Donbas region and change its constitution to rule out NATO membership.
But Rubio said he pays little mind to what the Russian dictator says in public and instead is focusing on plausible outcomes.
“I’m just saying there’s what people say and then what people do in the end,” Rubio said. “We’re not going to base our approach … on the basis simply of what people are saying. We’re going to base it on what people are willing to agree to, what countries are willing to agree to.”
US officials are pressing ahead with diplomacy this weekend despite what Rubio acknowledged are starkly incompatible public positions from both sides.
The discussions — which Rubio said have been ongoing “every single day” through meetings, back-channel discussions and phone calls — will continue this weekend in Miami with separate meetings with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, even as expectations for a breakthrough remain modest.
“What we’re trying to figure out here is, what can Ukraine live with and what can Russia live with?” Rubio said. “And see if we can sort of drive them towards each other to some agreement.”
Rubio stressed repeatedly that Washington is not imposing a deal — and cannot force either side to sign on.
“There is no peace deal unless Ukraine agrees to it,” he said. “But there’s also no peace deal unless Russia agrees to it. In the end, the decision will be up to Ukraine and up to Russia. It will not be up to the United States.”
Still, Rubio argued that the US remains the only country capable of even attempting to broker an end to the war — despite arming Ukraine and sanctioning Russia.
“The United States only provides weapons to Ukraine. We don’t sanction Ukraine — we sanction Russia,” he said. “And yet, we are still the only country in the world that can talk to both sides. The UN can’t do it. Nobody in Europe can do it.”
Rubio said that unique role explains why President Trump has invested so much personal time in the effort.
“I believe President Trump has had more meetings with foreign leaders on the war in Ukraine than on any other subject, including trade,” Rubio said.
The urgency is driven by the scale of the carnage and destruction, Rubio said.
“Eight [thousand] to 9,000 people will die this week,” he said, citing “five or six thousand weekly Russian casualties” alone. “This is a bloody, nasty conflict.”
He also warned that Ukraine’s infrastructure is being destroyed almost as fast as it can be rebuilt, pushing the cost of recovery into what he called “generational reconstruction,” while millions of Ukrainians remain displaced abroad.
“This is why the president wants to end it,” Rubio said. “He thinks it’s a bloody, nasty, horrifying war and he doesn’t like wars. He thinks they’re a waste of money, time and talent.”
Rubio declined to set deadlines or discuss specifics, including whether the US would recognize Russian-occupied territory. He said real negotiations “can’t generally be done in the media or in press conferences.
“I hope it can get done this month,” he said. “But maybe that happens next month. Maybe that’s not ready for a few months. That’s not up to us.”
English (US)