Ukraine and Europe Will Be Involved in Later Stages of Peace Talks, Says Rubio

Both Kyiv and Europe will be involved if talks about a peace deal in Ukraine advance further, the United States’ foreign policy chief has said, partially contradicting earlier comments by Donald Trump’s envoy to the conflict zone.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that the talks between Washington and Moscow, which are set to take place in Saudi Arabia this week, are preliminary and “real negotiations” will include Ukraine and Europe.

A day earlier, Keith Kellogg – the American special envoy to Ukraine and Russia – had claimed that European countries, aside from the two warring nations, would most likely be consulted but ultimately excluded from negotiations.

But speaking to American broadcaster CBS News, Rubio said Ukraine – and other European countries – would eventually be brought into talks.

“Ultimately, it will reach a point when you are — if it’s real negotiations, and we’re not there yet, but if that were to happen, Ukraine will have to be involved, because they’re the one that were invaded, and the Europeans will have to be involved because they have sanctions on Putin and Russia as well, and they’ve contributed to this effort.”

He continued: “We’re just not there yet. We really aren’t, but hopefully we will be, because we’d all like to see this war end.”

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In an event on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Kellogg was asked whether Europe would be included in talks with the US, Russia and Ukraine.

In his response, he told policymakers that he belonged to “the school of realism, and that is not going to happen.”

The bombshell comments came after Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky earlier told delegates that Europe now needed its own army, as it may not be able to depend on Washington for support.

‘Nothing worth discussing on the table’

European leaders are set to meet in Paris on Monday in an informal summit about Ukraine, in an attempt to set the agenda following the tumultuous conference.

Last week, US officials handed European governments a questionnaire asking, among other things, how many troops they could contribute to enforcing a peace agreement.

But no European allies were invited to Saudi Arabia, where Russian and U.S. officials are expected to kick off talks early this week about ending the war in Ukraine, which is now approaching its third year.

Ukraine was not invited either, officials in Kyiv said. On Saturday, Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to President Zelensky, said that “there is nothing on the negotiating table that would be worth discussing.”

Trump-Putin call ‘a good step’

Rubio, a key figure in Trump’s new administration, is part of the US delegation, along with National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff, who will lead talks with Russian officials in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

Asked by CBS about Trump’s call to Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, which sent shockwaves through Europe, Rubio said that it was a good step, but has to be “followed up by action.”

“Ultimately, one phone call does not make peace,” he said.

The composition of the Russian delegation to the Saudi talks had not yet been finalized, Rubio added.

Witkoff, who is expected to play a prominent role in negotiations, has also rejected concerns raised by Ukraine and other European countries that they would be fully excluded from peace negotiations.

Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, he said that Ukrainian officials had met with several US representatives at the conference in Munich over the last few days, and that President Trump had spoken with Zelensky last week.