Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that the “only way” to achieve peace between Ukraine and Russia is for both sides to make concessions.
Rubio’s remarks came during an interview with “Meet The Press” anchor Kristen Welker, just days after President Donald Trump sat down with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska to discuss a potential end to the war.
“As you can imagine, everybody goes into a negotiation wanting 100% of what they want. That includes Ukraine, but obviously the Russians. And the only way to reach a deal on anything, whether it’s in business or in politics or in geopolitics, the only way to reach a deal is for each side to get something, and each side to give something,” Rubio said.
He added that the length of the conflict has made compromise more difficult. “If it was easy, this wouldn’t have been going on for three and a half years. Understand the longer these wars go on, the harder they are to end unfortunately. Because one side is always looking for leverage on the other, in this particular case, the Russia side as well.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, along with European leaders, is expected to meet with Trump at the White House on Monday. Another summit with Putin could follow if progress is made toward a deal.
Trump has floated ideas such as land swaps and new safety guarantees as part of the discussions, though it remains unclear if Ukraine and Russia will ultimately agree.
Meanwhile, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff told CNN that Russia will not accept Ukraine joining NATO but has shown openness to an alternative. “We were able to win the following concession: that the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO,” Witkoff said. “We sort of were able to bypass that and get an agreement that the United States could offer Article 5 protection, which was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that.”