US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday the next few days will determine how serious Russian President Vladimir Putin is about peace in Ukraine, as US officials fly out to Saudi Arabia for meetings with Russian officials.
America’s top diplomat also played down European concerns about being cut out of the opening talks between
Russia and the
United States, saying in an interview with CBS that a negotiation process had not yet begun in earnest.
Earlier on Sunday, Reuters reported that US officials had handed European officials a questionnaire asking, among other things, how many troops they could contribute to enforcing a peace agreement. But no European allies were invited to
Saudi Arabia, where Russian and American officials are expected to kick off talks early in the week about ending the
Ukraine war.
“President Trump spoke to
Vladimir Putin last week, and in it, Vladimir Putin expressed his interest in peace, and the president expressed his desire to see an end to this conflict in a way that was enduring and that protected Ukrainian sovereignty,”
Rubio said on CBS’
Meet the Press.
“Now, obviously it has to be followed up by action, so the next few weeks and days will determine whether it’s serious or not. Ultimately, one phone call does not make peace.”
US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz were expected to leave for Saudi Arabia on Sunday evening, Witkoff said in a Fox News interview earlier in the day. Rubio noted he was going to be in Saudi Arabia anyway due to previously arranged official travel. The composition of the Russian delegation had not yet been finalised, Rubio said.
Rubio and Witkoff rejected concerns that Ukraine and other European leaders would have no place at peace negotiations, despite Trump’s Ukraine envoy
Keith Kellogg suggesting precisely that at this weekend’s
Munich Security Conference.