Sen. Marco Rubio on Sunday blasted the Biden administration for failing to define “what victory in Ukraine means” and said the incoming Trump administration would end the war with a “negotiated solution.”
“We hope that when that time comes, Ukraine will have more leverage than Russia.” In my opinion, that’s really the point here. And I think that’s it [former President] Donald Trump is trying to say,” Rubio said in an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”
His comments come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the United States last week to meet with Trump, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
After his meeting with Zelenskiy on Thursday, Harris said, “there are some in my country who would instead force Ukraine to give up a large part of its sovereign territory, demand that Ukraine accept neutrality, and demand that Ukraine renounce security ties with other nations. .”
“These proposals are the same as his proposals [President Vladimir] Putin, let’s be clear, these are not proposals for peace,” he added. “Instead, they are offers of surrender, which is dangerous and unacceptable.”
In a joint interview with Zelensky after his meeting with the Ukrainian president on Friday, Trump told Fox News that “if I win, we will get a very fair deal, and I think it will actually be a pretty quick deal.” [The war] should stop and president [of Ukraine] wants it stopped, and I’m sure President Putin wants it stopped, and it’s a good combination. That’s why we want to get a fair deal for everyone.”
When asked if Trump’s position on the war has changed, the former president said he has learned a lot, but his position remains the same: “We both want to see an end to this, we both want a fair deal.”
Asked what the fair would mean, Trump said it was “too early to say” but that he had his own ideas. Zelensky later noted in the interview that the United States has the ability to lead negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.
Trump said he could meet Zelenskiy again and reiterated that this war is a “complex puzzle” and should never happen.
Meanwhile, Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, has been a staunch opponent of the Ukraine aide. sparred with Zelensky last week.
On Saturday, Vance accused the Ukrainian leader of playing partisan politics with Democrats.
“I wanted to come from Ukraine the same week that President Zelensky came to Pennsylvania,” Vance told attendees at a campaign event in the state. “I don’t know if you all noticed, but he came to campaign with the Democratic leadership of this country.”
Vance added: “You know what I would like Zelensky to do when he comes to the United States? Thank you to the people of Pennsylvania and to everyone.”
The comments echoed a similar comment Vance made before Trump met with Zelensky in Michigan on Wednesday, in which Vance said he did not appreciate the wartime leader “coming into this country and telling the American taxpayers what to do.”
He was referring to Zelensky’s visit to an ammunition factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania, last week. After the visit, the President of Ukraine posted photos from the tour On Xwrites: “In such places you can really feel that the democratic world can win. I thank such people who work tirelessly to protect life in Ukraine, America and all partner countries.”