Only Trump-Putin direct talks can break Ukraine war 'logjam', says Rubio

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday the only way a breakthrough will happen in the efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine would be through direct talks between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, after Moscow sent a second-tier team to talks in Turkey.

Rubio, who spoke to reporters in Antalya, said he would travel to Istanbul for meetings on Friday with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and a Ukrainian delegation, but said he did not have high expectations for the talks.

“I don’t think we’re going to have a breakthrough here until the president (Trump) and President Putin interact directly on this topic,” Rubio said, echoing earlier comments from Trump.

More from World

Russia and Ukraine hold first direct talks in 3 years, agree on prisoner swap, but no truce Will Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Turkey finally put an end to war? Here’s what to expect

The top U.S. diplomat described the current state of the talks to end the war as a “logjam,” and said Trump was the only person who can break it.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had traveled to Turkey after Putin proposed talks there, before the Russian president decided against traveling to the talks himself.

Putin instead dispatched a second-tier team of aides and deputy ministers to Istanbul.

Rubio said the level of the officials sent by Russia was not indicative of a breakthrough, but said Trump was willing to stick with talks as long as it takes to achieve peace.

Impact Shorts

More Shorts

‘The cries of this widow will echo’: In first public remarks, Erika Kirk warns Charlie’s killers they’ve ‘unleashed a fire’

Trump urges Nato to back sanctions on Russia, calls for 50–100% tariffs on China

When asked if any efforts were under way to bring Trump and Putin together, Rubio said Trump was going to make decisions once his Middle East trip ends.

“Probably we’ll wait until he finishes with his trip … We’ll wait to see what happens tomorrow, and then those decisions will be made about a timeline,” he said.