During multiple press interviews on Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio touted alleged progress at President Donald Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, while offering few specifics to back up his claims.
In appearances on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and ABC’s “This Week,” Rubio wouldn’t name a single penalty that Putin would face for failing to agree to a ceasefire in Russia’s war with Ukraine – despite Trump previously suggesting that there’d be “consequences” if no such deal was reached at Friday’s meeting.
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Similarly, Rubio declined to detail any explicit concessions that the U.S. is demanding from Russia as part of a potential peace accord, arguing that revealing such information in the press would be detrimental to negotiations.
“I wouldn’t name them on your program. Why would I do that?” Rubio snapped when ABC’s Martha Raddatz pressed him on the latter.
“I’m not going to disclose those things,” Rubio added in an interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker.
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Rubio’s media appearances follow Trump’s Putin summit in Alaska, which Democrats have slammed as an “embarrassment” that helped legitimize the Russian leader with little to show for it. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and other Democratic lawmakers noted that Putin walked away with a photo op and a splashy meeting in the U.S. while having to announce no major commitments himself.
A State Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Rubio repeatedly argued that gains had been made at the gathering, but declined to provide actual examples, noting only that they “identified potential areas of agreement,” but there were still “big areas of disagreement.”
Related: Trump Claims He Wants To End The Ukraine War. His Call With Putin Did Little To Push Peace.
“We’re not at the precipice of a peace agreement. We’re not at the edge of one,” he said on ABC.
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He suggested, too, that any imposition of additional sanctions on Russia would effectively mean that peace talks were no longer tenable, even though Trump himself had previously threatened the Russian president with more repercussions barring a ceasefire agreement after the confab.
“I don’t think new sanctions on Russia are going to force him to accept the ceasefire,” Rubio said in his NBC appearance. “The minute he takes those steps, all talks stop.”
Rubio noted that the contours of any agreement would involve provisions addressing Ukraine’s security long-term, as well as what borders are going to look like for Russia and Ukraine. Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to Russia, has claimed to CNN that the U.S. secured the concession of “robust security guarantees,” including the possibility of American and European allies providing a collective defense of Ukraine if it were invaded again.
“So at this point …no sanctions, no ceasefire, and no deadlines?,” Raddatz asked Rubio.
“Well…the deadline is as soon as possible,” Rubio said, noting that Trump could consider penalties down the line if Putin fails to be a reliable negotiator.
