U.S Secretary of State Marco Rubio hailed President Donald Trump’s handling of the Ukraine crisis on Monday night, contrasting it sharply with what he described as years of inaction under the Biden administration.
Appearing on Fox News’ ‘Jesse Watters Prime Time’ shortly after high-level talks in Washington, Rubio credited Trump with creating the first real opening for peace since the war began.
Calling Trump “the only leader in the world” capable of bringing together Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Rubio said the discussions earlier in the day were “unprecedented.”
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“After three years of deadlock, and no talks, and no change in circumstances, this is the first time where there seems to be some movement,” Rubio noted. “This has been going on for three-and-a-half years. A lot of people have died, a lot of territories exchanged back-and-forth, so it’s not an easy thing to unwind, but nothing was happening on this war. Literally, the only option we were given under the previous administration was continue to fund Ukraine for however much they need, for however long it takes.”
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Rubio argued that under Trump, the conversation has shifted from endless funding to serious discussions on how the conflict might end. “It’s going to take a little bit more work, and a little bit more time, but we are making progress,” he said, stressing that other world leaders involved in Monday’s summit shared that view.
He added that the Biden administration’s approach amounted to fueling a “stalemated war of death and destruction,” while Trump has changed the dynamic by requiring Ukraine to purchase weapons through NATO rather than rely on open-ended U.S. aid. “That’s the other dynamic that’s changed – we’re no longer giving Ukraine weapons, we’re no longer giving Ukraine money, we are now selling them weapons and European countries are paying for it through NATO,” Rubio explained.
Reports following the D.C. talks indicated Putin had agreed to future meetings, first directly with Zelenskyy and later in a trilateral session with the United States, progress Rubio called significant.
“I’m not saying they are going to leave that room with a peace deal, but I think the fact that people are now talking to each other – this wasn’t happening for three-and-a-half years,” he told Watters, underscoring that Trump has “made it a priority” to pursue peace in Ukraine.
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Rubio also pointed to six other peace agreements Trump has brokered globally, which he said underscored the president’s credibility as a dealmaker. “President Trump is the only leader in the world – acknowledged by all the Europeans – the only leader in the world that can talk to both [Putin and Zelenskyy] and bring them both to a meeting,” Rubio said. “We should be proud that we have a president who has made peace a priority in his administration.”
