Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that Russia has indicated it will send the United States the terms it would need to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine.
"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 said during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee public hearing, according to Politico. "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."
The secretary's remarks come as the clearest sign yet that the Trump administration does not intend to change its approach toward Russia any time soon, even as many European allies contend that Russian President Vladimir Putin is dragging his feet on winding down the conflict.
It's not yet clear how involved the U.S. will be in any future negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv, after President Donald Trump said on Monday that the two sides will negotiate peace terms directly.
While Trump and Putin spoke for more than two hours on Monday, there were reportedly no breakthroughs on a ceasefire or peace talks. Following the call, Putin said Moscow is ready to work toward ending the fighting in Ukraine and described the conversation with Trump as "frank and meaningful."
Ahead of the call, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump has "grown weary and frustrated with both sides of the conflict."
"He has made it clear to both sides that he wants to see a peaceful resolution and ceasefire as soon as possible," Leavitt said.
Facing bipartisan questioning from the Senate committee on Tuesday about Trump's stance on Russia, Rubio reportedly defended the president's efforts to bring about an end to the war.
"He wants to preserve as long as he possibly can the opportunity to influence both sides towards peace," Rubio said of Trump, adding that "the minute you do certain things," you jeopardize your standing with one of the parties.
On Monday, Trump said he wasn't ready to impose economic sanctions on Russia, but left the door open to the possibility of doing so 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," the president said. "But there could be a time when that's going to happen."
Politico reported that the European Union passed their own economic measures against Russia on Tuesday, with congressional Republicans waiting for the White House to give them the go-ahead to pass similar sanctions.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.