Zelenskyy should apologise for “turning this thing into the fiasco for him that it became,” he said. “There was no need for him to go in there and become antagonistic.”
The goal of the meeting was to finalize an economic agreement for the United States to gain access to Ukraine’s natural resources. That deal never came to be.In an exclusive interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Rubio elucidated his view on the breakdown in negotiations, Trump’s intentions to end the conflict with Russia, and what Zelenskyy should do next.
“We’ve explained very clearly what our plan is here, which is we want to get the Russians to a negotiating table,” Rubio said. “We want to explore whether peace is possible.”
He said the agreement that was supposed to be signed Friday would have bound America to Ukraine economically, which Rubio said is a security guarantee. But, for the past 10 days, Ukraine has complicated the negotiations.
“This agreement could have been signed five days ago, but they insisted on coming to Washington,” Rubio said, noting that Zelenskyy came to Washington and lectured Trump on diplomacy.
“President Zelenskyy took it in that direction, and it ended in a predictable outcome as a result,” he said, calling it unfortunate and suggesting it set the peace negotiations back. “There was no need for him to go in there and become antagonistic.”
Rubio reiterated that the war must come to an end. “The way you bring it to an end is you get Russia to the table to talk.”
Instead, Rubio said, Zelenskyy attacked Russian President Vladimir Putin, and tried to goad Trump into doing the same. “And so you start to perceive that maybe Zelenskyy doesn’t want a peace deal,” said Rubio, who underscored the administration’s strategy would be to trust, but verify that the Russian side legitimately wanted to bring the war to an end.
Rubio said he has asked people about the European plan for ending the war. “I can tell you what one foreign minister told me—and I’m not going to say who it was—but I can tell you what one of them told me. And that is that the war goes on for another year, and at that point, Russia will feel so weakened that they'll beg for a peace.”
Rubio does not view that as a realistic plan. “And so, if there’s a chance of peace, even if it’s a 1 percent chance, that needs to be explored. And that’s what President Trump is trying to do here.”
Rubio said that under President Biden, the United States was funding a stalemate. “We were funding a meat grinder. And, unfortunately, for the Ukrainians, the Russians have more meat to grind, and they don’t care about human life.”
Rubio said the negotiations are not a political campaign. “This is high stakes international diplomacy, and an effort to bring about an end to a very, very dangerous war.”
CNN’s Collins noted that, in the past, Rubio has called Putin a war criminal and a butcher. “And, at this moment, as Secretary of State, my job working for the President is to deliver peace,” Rubio replied. “To end this conflict and end this war. Ultimately, that is the job of the State Department.”
Rubio expressed discontent over reports that the United States has not coordinated with the Ukrainians on negotiations. “That’s absolutely false,” he said. “Over the last 10 days, the Ukrainians have met with the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of State, the Vice President of the United States, had a phone call with President Trump, and he was in the Oval Office today. I’ve talked to the foreign minister of Ukraine three times in the last 10 days.”
The meeting ended today in a deep sense of frustration, Rubio said. He hopes the situation can be reset, and that maturity and pragmatism can kick in, “Tonight, people will die in Ukraine. Tonight, people will die in this conflict. We’re trying to bring an end to this conflict, which is unsustainable.”
Trump needs to be given the opportunity to end the war, Rubio said. He believes that the relationship between Trump and Zelenskyy can be repaired, if Ukraine wants to achieve an enduring and lasting peace.
