Ahead of Zelensky’s visit to the United States, CBS News’s Margaret Brennan said the European leaders are also coming over concern Zelensky will be “bullied” into a deal. Rubio objected that “that’s not true” and the leaders are actually coming because the U.S. has been working with them amid the Russia-Ukraine war.
“This is such a stupid media narrative that they are coming here tomorrow because Trump is going to bully Zelensky into a bad deal. We’ve been working with these people for weeks, for weeks on this stuff. They’re coming here tomorrow because they chose to come here tomorrow. We invited them to come,” Rubio said on CBS News’s Face the Nation.
Rubio said “enough progress” was made between Trump and Putin’s meeting to continue to “the next phase” of reaching a deal. He clarified the U.S. is not on the verge of making a deal, but that the Trump administration saw “movement” to spend more time on negotiations.
Rubio also said on ABC News’s This Week that the U.S. may pursue more sanctions on Russia if “everyone” concludes peace is not a viable option. However, any future sanctions would immediately end negotiations, Rubio said, adding that this would add another year to the war.
On Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo, Rubio said there’s “a lot of work” that remains in bringing peace. He added that Trump is making peace “a priority” for his administration and that a deal between Russia and Ukraine is “the hardest” one for him to achieve.
TRUMP-PUTIN SUMMIT TOP TAKEAWAYS: JUMPING THE LINE, RUSSIA HOAX, AND MOSCOW VISIT?
Zelensky said on X that he is “grateful” to visit the White House, also saying he supports Trump’s proposal for a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia.
First lady Melania Trump penned a letter to Putin telling him “it is time” to end the war. She pointed to how Putin is a father and it is the responsibility of leaders “to nurture the next generation’s hope.”
