Secretary of State Marco Rubio mentioned on Wednesday that he hoped a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine might happen inside “days” if Russian leaders agreed, and that he deliberate to get diplomats from the Group of seven allied nations to concentrate on ending the struggle in a gathering this week in Canada.
“Right here’s what we’d just like the world to appear to be in a couple of days: Neither facet is taking pictures at one another — not rockets, not missiles, not bullets, nothing, not artillery,” he informed reporters throughout a refueling cease in Eire as he flew from Saudi Arabia to Canada. “The taking pictures stops, the preventing stops, and the speaking begins.”
Mr. Rubio additionally downplayed any notion that he would encounter hostility from American allies due to President Trump’s current tariffs. And he mentioned he anticipated to have cordial talks with Canadian officers, regardless of Mr. Trump’s risk to annex Canada and make it the 51st state. The president has additionally imposed coercive tariffs on Canada.
“That’s not what we’re going to debate on the G7, and that’s not what we’re going to be discussing in our journey right here,” he mentioned. “They’re the host nation, and I imply, we’ve got a whole lot of different issues we work on collectively.”
“It isn’t a gathering about how we’re going to take over Canada,” he added.
Mr. Rubio and Michael Waltz, the White Home nationwide safety adviser, met for hours on Tuesday with Ukrainian officers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to work out how one can begin a negotiation course of with Russia to finish the struggle. Hostilities started in 2014 when Russia invaded and annexed Crimea, after which it launched a full-scale invasion in 2022.
After the assembly on Tuesday, Ukrainian officers mentioned that they had agreed to an American proposal for a 30-day interim cease-fire. After berating the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, within the White Home, Mr. Trump withheld U.S. weapons and intelligence help to the Ukrainians to attempt to drive them into negotiations. U.S. officers mentioned after the Jeddah assembly that help had restarted.
Mr. Rubio mentioned U.S. officers deliberate to “have contact” with Russian officers on Wednesday to debate the proposed cease-fire.
“If their response isn’t any, it could be extremely unlucky, and it’d make their intentions clear,” he added.
Mr. Rubio mentioned that when he, Mr. Waltz and Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump’s particular envoy to the Center East, met with Russian officers in Saudi Arabia final month, the Russians appeared open to the thought of a settlement to the struggle. “They expressed a willingness beneath the suitable circumstances, which they didn’t outline, to convey an finish to this battle,” he mentioned.
Mr. Rubio mentioned one in every of his primary objectives on the Group of seven assembly was corralling the opposite international locations — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, all supporters of Ukraine — to have a united entrance on encouraging peace talks. The assembly begins with a reception in Quebec Metropolis on Wednesday night time.
He mentioned a “excellent assertion” to be issued from the assembly “could be that the US has performed a very good factor for the world in bringing this course of ahead, and now all of us eagerly await the Russian response and urge them strongly to contemplate ending all hostilities, so folks will cease dying, so bullets will cease flying and so a course of can start to discover a everlasting peace.”
Ukrainian officers need to guarantee a number of points are addressed in any talks, he mentioned, together with exchanges of prisoners of struggle, the discharge of Ukrainian kids kidnapped by Russia and humanitarian help.
When requested what was the American place on Ukraine’s request for safety ensures to assist deter any future Russian assaults, Mr. Rubio merely mentioned deterrence could be a part of peace talks.
“There’s no strategy to have a permanent peace with out the deterrence piece being part of it,” he mentioned, including that any industrial minerals settlement between the US and Ukraine would assist enrich Ukraine, however was not a deterrent towards Russian aggression.
Mr. Trump has insisted that the US and Ukraine signal such an settlement, suggesting that funding by American firms in Ukraine would assist stave off a hostile Russia.
Mr. Rubio mentioned European guarantees to supply safety to Ukraine could be a part of peace talks as nicely. He mentioned it was unclear when these nations would change into extra concerned in negotiations, although European international locations have insisted they’d be central gamers in a settlement, if one had been to occur.
“I might think about that in any negotiation, if we get there hopefully with the Russians, that they may increase the European sanctions which have been imposed upon them,” Mr. Rubio mentioned. “So I feel that the difficulty of European sanctions are going to be on the desk, to not point out what occurs with the frozen belongings and the like.”
The overseas ministers gathered in Quebec Metropolis count on to debate the struggle, however Mr. Trump’s hostility to U.S. alliances, his alignment with Russia and his unpredictable tariff actions have created a number of points that the diplomats intend to boost.
Mr. Rubio mentioned Mr. Trump was imposing tariffs to not punish different nations however “to develop a home functionality” for manufacturing, particularly in protection industries.
Canadian officers, together with the incoming prime minister, Mark Carney, are taking reciprocal actions on the tariffs and grappling with Mr. Trump’s different threats. Mr. Rubio mentioned Mr. Trump’s statements on annexation had been based mostly on each financial and safety considerations.
“What he mentioned is they need to change into the 51st state from an financial standpoint,” Mr. Rubio mentioned. “He says in the event that they grew to become the 51st state, we wouldn’t have to fret in regards to the border and fentanyl coming throughout as a result of now we’d have the ability to handle that. He’s made an argument that it’s their curiosity to take action. Clearly, the Canadians don’t agree, apparently.”