The US Secretary of State names condition under which Trump and Putin will meet

The timing of the meeting between the US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin will depend on whether the parties make progress on ending the war in Ukraine.

This was stated by the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Rubio emphasizes that the meeting should be "objective" — that is, it will not take place until the American side finds out "what will be discussed".

“I think a lot of it will depend on when that meeting happens whether we can make progress on ending the war in Ukraine,” Rubio said, though he did not give a specific date.

According to the head of the State Department, Trump wants to know whether Russia is serious about ending the war in Ukraine. However, it is impossible to find out without negotiating with the Russian side.

In addition, Rubio says that Trump is “very upset” by the actions of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which is why he made his latest critical statements. According to the US Secretary of State, this is due to the lack of gratitude for American assistance from Ukraine and the refusal to sign an agreement on Ukrainian minerals.

"We had a conversation with President Zelensky... We discussed this issue of mineral rights and explained to them, ʼListen, we want to be in a joint venture with you — not because we are trying to steal from your country, but because we see it as a security guarantee,ʼ" Rubio said.

Zelensky allegedly expressed a desire to conclude this agreement, but added that it “needs to be carried out through the legislative process” in Ukraine.

“Two days later, I read that Zelensky said, ʼI rejected the deal, I told them no way, we’re not going to do it.’ But that meeting wasn’t like that. So you start getting upset about what someone says,” Rubio explained Trump’s words.

He is also convinced that Trump is ready to work towards achieving peace because he is “indifferent to the fate of Ukraine”. And he once again said that Trump is the only politician in the world who can make peace.

• On February 18, Russia and the United States held their first talks in Saudi Arabia. No specific date was agreed upon for the meeting between Putin and Trump. However, Trump said the meeting could take place “very soon,” and the Kremlin did not rule out the possibility that it could happen by the end of February 2025.

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