U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on Sunday that Ukraine and Europe would be included in any “real negotiations” to end Moscow’s war, emphasizing that upcoming U.S.-Russia talks would test Russian President Vladimir Putin’s sincerity about peace.
Speaking in an interview with CBS, Rubio sought to reassure European leaders who had expressed concerns about being excluded from the initial discussions between the U.S. and Russia, which are set to take place in Saudi Arabia. He clarified that a formal negotiation process had not yet begun, but if it progressed, Ukraine and other European nations would be included.
A report from Reuters earlier on Sunday revealed that U.S. officials had sent European counterparts a questionnaire, inquiring about the number of troops they could contribute to enforcing a potential peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia.
“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’s 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,” he added.
U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and national security adviser Mike Waltz were scheduled to depart for Saudi Arabia on Sunday evening, Witkoff confirmed during an interview with Fox News.
Rubio noted that his trip to Saudi Arabia had been planned earlier as part of official travel, and the final composition of the Russian delegation remained uncertain.
The discussions in Saudi Arabia coincide with U.S. efforts to negotiate a deal with Kyiv, aimed at opening Ukraine’s natural resources to U.S. investment. In an interview with NBC aired on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy raised concerns over whether mineral-rich areas controlled by Russia would be handed over to Putin.
Former President Donald Trump, who spoke with Putin last Wednesday and later stated that the Russian leader was seeking peace, reiterated on Sunday his confidence that Putin would not attempt to seize all of Ukraine.
“That would have caused me a big problem, because you just can’t let that happen. I think he wants to end it,” Trump told reporters in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Trump also assured that Zelenskiy would play a role in the discussions to bring the war to an end.
Europe’s Role in Peace Talks Questioned
Despite Trump’s Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, implying at the Munich Security Conference that European nations might not have a role in peace talks, both Rubio and Witkoff dismissed concerns that Ukraine and other European leaders would be excluded from negotiations.
In an interview on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, Witkoff pointed out that Ukrainian officials had engaged with multiple U.S. representatives at the Munich conference and that Trump himself had spoken with Zelenskiy just last week.
Rubio reiterated that meaningful negotiations would inevitably involve Ukraine and Europe.
“Ultimately, it will reach a point—if it’s real negotiations, and we’re not there yet—but if that were to happen, Ukraine will have to be involved because they’re the ones that were invaded, and the Europeans will have to be involved because they have sanctions on Putin and Russia as well,” Rubio said.
“We’re just not there yet,” he added.
French President Emmanuel Macron is set to host European leaders on Monday for an emergency summit on the Ukraine war, according to his office, following Kellogg’s remarks.
European officials have been taken aback by the Trump administration’s recent approach toward Ukraine, Russia, and European defense. Their primary concern is whether they can still rely on U.S. military support, fearing that Trump might broker a Ukraine peace deal with Putin that compromises Kyiv’s security and weakens broader European defense interests.
When asked whether he had discussed the possibility of lifting sanctions on Russia during a Saturday phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Rubio declined to confirm details, stating only that they “did not go into any details.”
Following the call, Moscow announced that the two had discussed removing “unilateral barriers” imposed by the previous U.S. administration on U.S.-Russia relations.
Rubio acknowledged that he had addressed the “difficult” working conditions of the U.S. embassy in Moscow with Lavrov. He noted that for any progress to be made in Ukraine peace efforts, both Russia and the U.S. needed to maintain properly functioning embassies in each other’s countries.