Trump's strategic calculus: Putin summit hinges on war progress

The US Secretary of State admitted that he discussed the meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin during negotiations in Riyadh with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. At that time, Rubio reportedly told the Russian side that "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 that it is likely, but negotiations between Trump and Putin may also happen later.

Rubio said in a conversation with the media, "I don't know the timing of it." He said Trump wants to know whether Russia is serious about ending the war in Ukraine.

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 attacked the President of Ukraine at almost every opportunity, calling him a "dictator".

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

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

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.