Trump and Putin's February meeting hinges on Ukraine's progress

The U.S. Secretary of State admitted that he discussed the potential meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin during talks in Riyadh with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. At that time, Rubio reportedly told the Russian side that "there will be no meeting until we know what it will 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 U.S. Secretary of State, as quoted by Reuters.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he will probably meet with Vladimir Putin before the end of February. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated it is likely, but negotiations between Trump and Putin may also happen later.

"I don't know the date," Rubio said in a conversation with the media. He conveyed that Trump wants to know whether Russia is serious about ending the war in Ukraine. The only way is to test them, he clarified.

The U.S. 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 criticized the President of Ukraine at nearly every possible opportunity, calling him a "dictator".

Rubio acknowledged to journalists that President Trump is distraught with President Zelensky. He also emphasized that Ukraine should show appreciation for the support it has received from the United States.

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

The Secretary of State and U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance discussed this with Volodymyr Zelensky during a recent conference in Munich. Rubio admitted that the U.S. now has "a personal interest in Ukraine's security" and "was upset" when he learned that Zelensky rejected the agreement.