Russia has pledged to send the U.S. “terms for what they would require in order to reach a ceasefire” with Ukraine following this week’s phone call between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday.
US Stance on Russian Proposal
“It’s our understanding that the Russians are going to write up terms for what they would require in order to reach a ceasefire that then would allow broader negotiations,” Rubio told a Senate committee in a public hearing. “We await those terms and then we’ll have a much better understanding about Mr. Putin’s calculation once we see what those terms look like.”
European and US Responses
His remarks were the latest sign that the U.S. is in no rush to change its posture toward Russia, even as many European officials and lawmakers believe that Putin is playing for time. It’s unclear how active a role the U.S. will play in future negotiations between the parties after Trump said Monday that Russia and Ukraine will directly negotiate the terms for an end to the war.
Challenges and Negotiations
Trump’s two-hour-long phone call with Putin on Monday did not yield any breakthroughs on a ceasefire or talks to end the fighting, disappointing Washington’s European and Ukrainian allies who want to see the U.S. do more to ratchet up pressure on Putin.
Rubio, facing questions from Democrats and Republicans in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about the U.S.’s approach to Russia, defended the president’s efforts so far. Others are pushing a more aggressive approach. The EU on Tuesday passed their own new measures against Russia, and Republicans in Congress have said they are awaiting a greenlight from the White House to pass bilateral sanctions on Moscow.
Path to Peace
“He wants to preserve as long as he possibly can the opportunity to influence both sides towards peace,” Rubio said of Trump, adding “the minute you do certain things” you lose influence with one of the sides of the conflict — an implication that sanctioning Russia could jeopardize Washington’s ability to speak with Moscow and Kyiv.
Trump said Monday he was not yet ready to impose sanctions but could in the future.
“I think there’s a chance of getting something done. And if you do that, you can also make it much worse. But there could be a time when that’s going to happen.”
Rubio cited talks in Istanbul last week between Russia and Ukraine that ended in an agreement to swap 1,000 prisoners of war as a positive step but said “what we haven’t seen yet is moves toward peace.”
The U.S. decision to await a Russian proposal is the latest in its shifting stance on bringing an end to the war between Moscow and Kyiv.
Trump came to office saying that he would end the war in 24 hours, then began a process by which Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff began direct talks with Moscow in a bid to broker a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Vice President JD Vance has since said Washington is abandoning that approach after Russia refused to engage in anything temporary and is instead focusing on bringing the parties together to speak directly.
