Trump-Putin Meeting Depends on Ukraine War Progress - Rubio

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a potential meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin hinges on progressing toward ending the war in Ukraine, Orda reports, citing The Kyiv Independent.

In an interview with Catherine Herridge, Rubio confirmed he discussed the possible Trump-Putin summit with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Saudi Arabia.

While Trump indicated he would "probably" meet Putin before the end of February, Rubio was noncommittal about timing, stating that "there isn't going to be a meeting until we know what the meeting is going to be about."

American and Russian delegations met in Riyadh on February 18.

No concrete decisions on peace talks were announced, and Ukraine's exclusion from the meeting raised concerns in Kyiv and Europe.

The only way is to test them, to basically engage them and say, okay, are you serious about ending the war, and if so, what are your demands? Are your public demands and your private demands different?  Rubio said.

According to the New York Times, Rubio assured concerned European officials that the Trump administration would not impose any bilateral agreements with Russia on Ukraine and Europe.

He reportedly stated that Washington was aware Russia might try to use the talks to divide the West or reduce its international isolation.

The NYT report indicates Rubio told European partners that while broad U.S. sanctions against Russia would remain without significant changes in Moscow's position, limited sanctions relief could be considered if Russia took steps the U.S. administration sought.

The developments followed a clash between the Ukrainian and U.S. Presidents.

Meanwhile, representatives from the United States and Russia have been meeting secretly in Switzerland in recent months for unofficial discussions about the conflict in Ukraine, Reuters reports, citing its sources.

The latest meeting in Geneva purportedly coincided with the Munich Security Conference, which concluded on February 16.