Trump prone to meet Zelenskyy subsequent week on peace efforts: Rubio

U.S. President Donald Trump will doubtless meet Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy subsequent week and nonetheless hopes to dealer a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on Tuesday (September 16, 2025).

Mr. Trump has repeatedly threatened sanctions towards Russia if President Vladimir Putin doesn’t compromise. But he has not adopted via at the same time as Russia ramps up assaults, irritating Ukraine.

Mr. Trump has had “a number of calls with Putin, a number of conferences with Zelenskyy, together with in all probability subsequent week once more in New York”, the place leaders will collect for the U.N. General Assembly, Mr. Rubio advised reporters in Israel.

“He’s going to maintain attempting. If peace is feasible, he needs to realize it,” Rubio stated.

“At some level, the President could conclude it’s not attainable. He’s not there but, however he might get to that time.”

Mr. Rubio pointed to a determine beforehand cited by Mr. Trump, saying that Russia misplaced 20,000 troopers in preventing in July alone.

Mr. Trump a month in the past welcomed Mr. Putin to Alaska — the primary time a Western nation has allowed the Russian chief to go to since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — and days later met with Mr. Zelenskyy alongside European leaders on the White House.

‘No one else can mediate’

Mr. Rubio stated that Mr. Trump was distinctive in with the ability to communicate to Mr. Putin in addition to Mr. Zelenskyy and the Europeans.

“If in some way he had been to disengage from this, or sanction Russia and say, ‘I’m accomplished’, then there’s nobody left on the planet that would probably mediate the tip,” Mr. Rubio stated.

Mr. Trump got here into workplace vowing to finish the battle inside a day, blaming his predecessor Joe Biden for Russia’s invasion and criticising the billions of {dollars} offered by the United States to Ukraine.

At a February 28 assembly on the White House that surprised U.S. allies, Mr. Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly berated Mr. Zelenskyy, accusing him of ingratitude, after which briefly reduce off U.S. navy and intelligence assist for Ukraine.

Mr. Zelensky has since met Mr. Trump twice and every time gone out of his strategy to reward the U.S. president and voice appreciation for American assist.