Rubio: U.S. now better understands Russia, has done its best for peace in Ukraine

He said this in an interview with The Free Press.

Rubio stated that “there is no military end to this war.” In his opinion, Russia does not intend to capture all of Ukraine, and Ukraine will not be able to push the Russians back to the positions of 2014.

“What I would say we’re involved in is understanding what the Russian position is. We have a better understanding of that now because we’ve actually spoken to them after three years of not speaking to them,” said the U.S. Secretary of State.

He expressed the view that it is also important to understand Ukraine’s position: “figure out are these guys even in the same neighborhood because of their completely different zip codes.”

“We’ve done our best. We’ve put a lot of time and energy at the highest levels of our government. We’ll continue to be willing to do so as long as there’s a realistic path forward. If at some point we determine that we’re just too far apart and not enough movement is happening, we may need to move on to other priorities because there are a lot of important things happening in the world,” Rubio said.

He added that the U.S. is trying to help both sides end the war, but ultimately a peaceful settlement depends on Russia and Ukraine.

“We didn’t start this war. We’re trying to help everybody end it. They may be too far apart, but I hope not. We should be optimistic. We should be willing—as we are—to do whatever it takes to bring the two sides closer. Hopefully we can be successful, but ultimately it’s not up to us. It’s up to Russia, and it’s up to Ukraine. They have to make the decision that they’re willing to move closer to one another, and we need to start to see progress,” Rubio concluded.

• Earlier, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance stated that the U.S. would withdraw from mediating between Russia and Ukraine if it does not receive a positive response.