US President Donald Trump is actively pursuing a face-to-face assembly with Russian President Vladimir Putin to advance Ukraine peace efforts “as soon as feasible,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio mentioned in an interview set to be aired on Sunday on CBS News’ Face the Nation.
“The president wants to do it. He wants to do it as soon as feasible,” Rubio advised host Margaret Brennan, including that such high-level engagement may signify the one path via fixing the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“One of the things that could help break this logjam, perhaps the only thing that can, is a direct conversation between President Trump and Vladimir Putin,” Rubio mentioned.
He confirmed the administration has already prolonged a proper invitation, although logistics stay unfinalized.
“The mechanics of setting that kind of meeting up would require a little bit of work, so I can’t say that’s being planned as we speak in terms of picking a site and a date,” he defined.
This initiative comes following peace talks in Istanbul on Friday alongside different diplomatic developments, together with the Vatican’s supply to host Russia-Ukraine negotiations at varied ranges.
Rubio famous the Kremlin has expressed conditional openness to such Vatican-hosted talks.
Rubio mentioned he talked with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to evaluate latest negotiations in Istanbul. He mentioned the talks “were not a complete waste of time” and reported two tangible outcomes: an settlement for a 1,000-prisoner change from either side, which he referred to as “very positive” from a humanitarian perspective, and Russia’s preparation of a doc outlining ceasefire necessities.
The Trump administration is fastidiously evaluating Russian sincerity, Rubio indicated. “If those papers have ideas on them that are realistic and rational, then I think we know we’ve made progress,” he mentioned, whereas warning that “endless talks” with out substantive proposals might outcome within the US having “a different assessment.”
On Iran’s nuclear program, Rubio mentioned unequivocally: “Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.”
He highlighted that any uranium enrichment functionality can rapidly result in weapons-grade materials.
“The president’s preference is to achieve that through a peaceful negotiation. In fact, the president’s preference is not only that Iran not pursue nuclear weapons, but that Iran be a rich, peaceful and prosperous country where its people can be happy. He wants them to have a better future,” Rubio mentioned.
Source: www.anews.com.tr