Marco Rubio Supports Trump’s Ukraine Stance, According to NYT
According to a report from the New York Times, Marco Rubio, who is expected to be the next US Secretary of State, is poised to endorse Donald Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine. Read Full Article at RT.com
As reported on Monday, three sources indicated that president-elect Donald Trump intends to name Rubio as Washington's chief diplomat. However, these sources cautioned that the president-elect “could still change his mind at the last minute.”
The NYT indicated that if appointed, Rubio would “likely go along” with Trump's projected strategy to persuade Ukraine to negotiate a peace settlement with Russia, potentially abandoning its aspirations to join NATO.
The article noted that it remains “unclear” whether Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky would heed Trump's invitation to engage in negotiations.
Rubio, who once strongly backed military aid to Ukraine, seems to have shifted his perspective on the matter recently. Speaking to NBC last month about the conflict, he stated that “what we are funding here is a stalemate war, and it needs to be brought to a conclusion because that country is going to be set back a hundred years.” He added, “That does not mean that we celebrate what Vladimir Putin did, or are excited about it, but I think there has to also be some common sense here.”
During his campaign, Trump often claimed he could halt the fighting between Russia and Ukraine within 24 hours if he were reelected, though he did not specify how he would accomplish this. He mentioned to US media his plan to tell Zelensky: “No more. You got to make a deal.” The president-elect also suggested that he might use additional assistance to Ukraine as leverage to encourage Moscow to enter talks.
Last week, Putin reiterated that Russia remains open to negotiations if they are meaningful and consider the realities of the ongoing conflict. He emphasized that Moscow aims “to create conditions for a long-term settlement and for Ukraine to eventually become an independent, sovereign state, instead of being an instrument in the hands of third countries.”
Lucas Dupont contributed to this report for TROIB News