Rubio defends Russia talks and criticism of Zelensky

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio pushed back against accusations that the Trump administration has given in to Russia even before talks on ending the Ukraine war begin, saying Washington first wants to see whether Moscow was "serious".

Russia and the United States agreed to establish teams to negotiate ending the war at talks in Riyadh earlier this week. Neither Ukraine nor its European allies were invited.

US President Donald Trump "wants this war with Ukraine to end. And he wants to know: Are the Russians serious about ending the war, or not serious about ending the war?" Rubio said in an interview on Thursday posted on social network X.

"The only way is to test them, to basically engage them and say, okay, are you serious about ending the war, and if so, what are your demands," Rubio told journalist Catherine Herridge.

He also said that he was "not a fan of most of what (Russian President) Vladimir Putin has done."

But he added: "We ultimately have to be able to talk to a nation that has, in some cases, the largest tactical nuclear weapons stockpile in the world, and the second largest, if not the largest, strategic nuclear weapons stockpile in the world."

Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov agreed in Riyadh to "appoint respective high-level teams to begin working on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible", the State Department said.

Washington added that the sides had also agreed to "establish a consultation mechanism" to address "irritants" to the US-Russia relationship, noting the sides would lay the groundwork for future cooperation.

Trump said after the talks in Riyadh that he was "much more confident" of a deal to end the three-year-old war.

The United States has provided essential funding and arms to Ukraine.

But Trump has rattled Kyiv and its European backers by opening talks with Moscow they fear could end the conflict on terms unacceptable to them.

Rubio denied that the United States had kept Ukraine and its European allies out of the loop, saying "It's unfair to say that we didn't consult anybody on it.”

"And I also think it's silly to say, well, the Ukrainians are going be cut out or the Europeans are going to be cut out. You can't... find a stop to a war unless both sides and their views are represented," Rubio said.

Tensions between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky exploded this week in a series of barbs traded at press conferences and on social media.

"I think President Trump is very upset at President Zelensky and in some cases, rightfully so" Rubio said, saying that Trump's predecessor Joe Biden also had "frustrations" with the Ukrainian leader.

He said that Ukraine was on another continent and that it did not impact the "daily lives of Americans."

But he added: "We care about it because it has implications for our allies and ultimately for the world.

"There should be some level of gratitude here about this, and when you don't see it and you see (Zelensky) out there accusing the president of living in a world of disinformation, that's highly, very counterproductive," he said.

© Agence France-Presse