From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, September 16, 2025
Trump likely to meet Zelensky next week on peace efforts, Rubio says
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US President Donald Trump will likely meet his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky next week, and still hopes to broker a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says.
Trump has repeatedly threatened sanctions against Russia if President Vladimir Putin does not compromise. But he has not followed through even as Russia ramps up attacks, frustrating Ukraine.
Trump has had “multiple calls with Putin, multiple meetings with Zelensky, including probably next week again in New York,” where leaders are gathering for the UN General Assembly, Rubio tells reporters in Israel.
“He’s going to keep trying. If peace is possible, he wants to achieve it,” Rubio says. “At some point, the president may conclude it’s not possible. He’s not there yet, but he could get to that point.”
Rubio points to a figure previously cited by Trump, saying that Russia lost 20,000 soldiers in fighting in July alone. Rubio says that Trump was unique in being able to speak to Putin as well as Zelensky and the Europeans.
“If somehow he were to disengage from this, or sanction Russia and say, ‘I’m done,’ then there’s no one left in the world that could possibly mediate the end,” Rubio says.
The Times of Israel Community.