Marco Rubio claims ‘progress’ towards Ukraine-Russian peace deal — but says only Putin can end the war

Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued Tuesday that “progress” had been made towards ending the nearly four-year-long war in Ukraine – and suggested Russian President Vladimir Putin is the main obstacle that remains.

“What we’re trying to see is if it’s possible to end the war in a way that protects Ukraine’s future that both sides could agree to,” Rubio told Fox News host Sean Hannity, after the Kremlin rejected the Trump administration’s latest plan to end the bloodshed.

“I think we’ve made some progress, but we’re not there yet,” the secretary of state continued.

When asked how confident he was in the prospect of peace, Rubio deflected and put the onus on Putin.

“It’s hard to tell about confidence level on it, because ultimately the decisions have to be made, in the case of Russia, by Putin alone,” the top US diplomat said. “Not his advisors, Putin.

“Only Putin can end this war on the Russian side.”

President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with the Russian strongman in Moscow for more than five hours Tuesday and presented him with the 19-point peace plan US negotiators hammered out with Ukrainian officials last week. 

The marathon meeting ended with no agreement.

“While a compromise [peace plan for Ukraine] has not yet been found, some American proposals [for a peace settlement] appear more or less acceptable, but they need to be discussed,” Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov told Russian media.

“Some of the formulations we were offered are unacceptable,” Ushakov added. “Therefore, the work will continue.”

Rubio described the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine as “the most illogical war,” arguing “no one’s really winning that war” – as the Russian side is losing some 7,000 soldiers a week in a battle for “about 30 to 50 kilometers of space in the 20% of the Donetsk region that remains.” 

The deal the Trump administration hopes Russia will eventually sign onto is one Kyiv “can live with” and would provide Ukrainians with “security guarantees for the future that they’re never going to be invaded again” and “allows them not just to rebuild their economy, but to prosper as a country,” Rubio said. 

“Theoretically, doing the right things, In 10 years, Ukraine’s GDP could be larger than Russia’s,” the secretary of state argued. “These are the kinds of things … that we’re trying to achieve here.”