Rubio commented to the press after his visit to Uzbekistan; the main questions concerned...

Rubio gave a comment to the press after visiting Uzbekistan; the main questions concerned Ukraine. Nothing encouraging.

In brief:

1. Rubio confirmed that a meeting between Trump, Putin, and Xi on Ukraine may take place.

2. In response to a question about worsening US-Ukraine relations and the suspension of intelligence-sharing, Rubio said the focus should not be on that, but on ending the war. In effect, Rubio confirmed an attempt to force Ukraine to capitulate this way.

3. Rubio effectively confirmed that the United States intends to counter Russian escalation in Europe not by deterring Russia, but by coercing Ukraine.

4. Rubio indirectly confirmed that Ukraine had previously used Starshield, which differs from the comment he gave yesterday.

Full quotes.

The WSJ reported that a meeting between Trump, Putin, and Xi Jinping is being prepared to discuss ending the war. Is that accurate information?

I think there have been talks about a meeting. I do not know whether they have already been finalized, but the president [Trump] has made it clear that he wants the war to end. I think the president is open to anything that can help end the war, and we will continue looking for opportunities to make that happen.

What evidence do you have that Putin is open to negotiations?

Evidence? This is not a criminal case; this is diplomacy. In diplomacy, you keep trying. Sometimes, unfortunately, such conflicts are complicated; they become mired in a deadlock, everything stagnates, and neither side achieves clear victories, but both sides suffer enormous damage. We will simply try to see how much we can help end the conflict. And the evidence will be whether we can make a deal, how willing both sides are to give in order to end the war. Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not, but that is the nature of diplomacy.

Ukraine said it again did not receive an early warning of Russian ballistic missiles during the strike on Kyiv. What happened?

I do not know for certain whether that happened last night. I know that several days ago there were software problems, including with early-warning systems. EUCOM was looking into what was going on — that is what they told us. I cannot comment on what happened last night.

You were asked about Starshield, and you said Zelensky does not know what he is talking about. Trump called for elections in Ukraine. Do you think relations have now been fundamentally destroyed?

Starshield is controlled by the Pentagon, and Ukraine has benefited from it. I think they want to expand its use. Negotiations on this are taking place daily. As for relations, it is very simple. Our goal is to end the war. That is what we want to do. Nothing good comes from this war, and there are negative consequences, including a very real risk of escalation and expansion into other countries: a failed sabotage attempt, drones flying into other countries because of electronic warfare — we see this every night. This is a very dangerous conflict, including for European countries, especially Eastern Europe. So it would be a great benefit if we could bring this to an end, and we are doing everything we can to bring both sides to the table.

Zelensky said the United States had suspended intelligence-sharing.

I do not know where he gets that from or why he is saying it to the press; you should ask him. There were no suspensions. He should be focused, as should we and Russia, on ending this war.