US Secretary Of State Rubio: Trump-Putin's Meeting Depends On Progress In Efforts To End The War In Ukraine

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. (Wikimedia Commons/US Department of State/Freddie Everett)

JAKARTA - United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said the possible meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin "will depend heavily on whether we can make progress in ending the war in Ukraine."

Foreign Minister Rubio said he discussed the meeting when meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday and said: "There will be no meeting until we know what will be discussed in the meeting."

"I think when the meeting takes place it will depend heavily on whether we can make progress in ending the war in Ukraine," Foreign Minister Rubio told reporters in a broadcast on X.

After talks in Saudi Arabia, President Trump - who spoke by telephone with President Putin last week - said on Tuesday he might meet with Kremlin leaders before the end of the month.

"I don't know the time," said Foreign Minister Rubio.

Foreign Minister Rubio further said Trump wanted to know whether Russia was serious about ending the war in Ukraine, which was triggered by the Moscow invasion in February 2022.

"The only way is to test them, basically involve them and say, 'Okay, are you serious about ending the war? And if so, what are your demands? Are your public demands and personal demands different?'" Foreign Minister Rubio said.

"The only thing we agree on is that we will talk about peace. What they offer, what they are willing to admit, what they are willing to consider, will determine whether they are serious about peace or not," he explained. "We haven't reached that stage yet," he added.

It is known that President Trump's efforts to end the war have left Ukraine and European allies worried that they will be excluded from any peace negotiations. However, Foreign Minister Rubio said the US had consulted everything.

Foreign Minister Rubio spoke amid a widening rift between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. President Trump denounced President Zelensky as "a dictator without elections" on Wednesday, after President Zelensky said President Trump was caught in a bubble of Russian disinformation, in response to a statement by the US President declaring Ukraine started the war.

"President Trump is furious at President Zelensky," said Foreign Minister Rubio.

"We care about (Ukraine) because it has implications for our allies and in the end for the world. There must be gratitude here," he explained.