Rubio Reveals The ‘Only Way’ To Achieve Ukraine-Russia Peace Deal

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday the “only way” to achieve a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia is for both sides to make concessions.

Rubio made the comments to “Meet The Press” anchor Kristen Welker during an interview on NBC News a couple days after President Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska to discuss ending the years-long conflict.

.@SecRubio: “The only way to reach a deal is for each side to get something and each side to give something — and that’s been very difficult. If it was easy, this wouldn’t have been going on for 3.5 years… That’s why Zelensky is coming tomorrow.” pic.twitter.com/Z5h2tv9wRz

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 17, 2025

“As you can imagine, everybody goes into a negotiation wanting 100% of what they want. That includes Ukraine, but obviously the Russians. And the only way to reach a deal on anything, whether it’s in business or in politics or in geopolitics, the only way to reach a deal is for each side to get something, and each side to give something,” Rubio said.

He continued, “And that’s been very difficult. If it was easy, this wouldn’t have been going on for three and a half years. Understand the longer these wars go on, the harder they are to end unfortunately. Because one side is always looking for leverage on the other, in this particular case, the Russia side as well.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders are expected to huddle with Trump at the White House on Monday. Another meeting with Putin could follow if there is a viable path toward peace.

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Trump has indicated that land swaps and safety measures are part of the discussion, although it remains to be seen whether Russia and Ukraine will ultimately agree to such terms.

During another interview on Sunday, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff told CNN that Putin will not stand for Ukraine to join NATO, but is open to allowing some kind of arrangement that would allow the United States to effectively provide one of its major security tenets.

Tapper: “You mentioned the Article 5 guarantee of NATO…Russia would allow that to happen?”

Witkoff: “That’s not what I said. What I said is we got to an agreement that the U.S. and other European nations could effectively offer Article 5-like language for security guarantees.” pic.twitter.com/gIiT59IdQJ

— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) August 17, 2025

“We were able to win the following concession: that the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO,” Witkoff said to “State of the Union” host Jake Tapper. “We sort of were able to bypass that and get an agreement that the United States could offer Article 5 protection, which was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that.”