Trump-Putin meeting hinges on Ukraine peace progress

The US Secretary of State mentioned that he discussed the potential meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin during discussions in Riyadh with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. At that time, Rubio reportedly told the Russian side, "There isn't going to be a meeting until we know what the meeting is going to be about."

"I think when that meeting happens will largely depend on whether we can make any progress on ending the war in Ukraine," said the US Secretary of State as quoted by Reuters.

US President Donald Trump announced that he will probably meet with Vladimir Putin before the end of February. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated it is likely, but talks between Trump and Putin could also occur later.

"I don't know the timing of it," Rubio said in a conversation with the media. He conveyed that Trump wants to know whether Russia is serious about ending the war in Ukraine. "The only way is to test them," he clarified.

The US President accused Ukraine of escalating the conflict with Russia, which was met with a response from Volodymyr Zelensky, who accused Trump of spreading Russian disinformation. Since then, Trump has criticized the President of Ukraine at nearly every opportunity, calling him a "dictator".

"President Trump is very angry with President Zelensky," admitted Rubio in a conversation with journalists. He added that Ukraine should be "grateful" to the US for their assistance so far.

Washington is also urging Kyiv to quickly negotiate the terms of an agreement ensuring the United States a share of revenues from rare earth metals as compensation for their previous support.

The Secretary of State and US Vice President J.D. Vance discussed this with Volodymyr Zelensky during a recent conference in Munich. Rubio admitted that the US now has "a personal interest in Ukraine's security" and "was upset" when he learned that Zelensky rejected the agreement.