WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Tuesday that ending Russia’s war in Ukraine would become a cornerstone of US foreign policy under President Donald Trump, as part of the broader goal of administration to prioritize peace and stability on the global stage.
Former US Senator Rubio, a China hawk and staunch supporter of Israel, was the first of Trump’s Cabinet nominees to be sworn in on Tuesday, after the US Senate unanimously confirmed his nomination on Monday evening. Additional votes on other Trump nominees were expected this week.
At his confirmation hearing last week, America’s new top diplomat said Moscow and kyiv would have to make concessions to end the war and suggested Ukraine should abandon its goal of reclaiming all territory conquered by Russia over the past decade.
Rubio echoed these comments BNC“Today” from Tuesday before the inauguration ceremony.
“The official policy of the United States will be to end the war and we will do everything possible to achieve that,” he said.
Former President Joe Biden, who sent billions of dollars worth of US weapons to Ukraine after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, insisted he belonged Ukraine to decide if and when to begin peace talks with Russia.
Trump, during his presidential campaign, said he would quickly end the war, without specifying how he would do it.
Rubio said it would be “complicated … because each side will have to give something.”
“The only way conflicts like this can end is not through public statements,” Rubio said. “They end with a tough and dynamic diplomacy in which the United States seeks to engage, in the hope of ending this conflict in a lasting way, in a “It is a way that guarantees the security of the Ukraine and our partners in the region, but which puts an end to the killing, death and destruction that we have been witnessing for some time now. “
Rubio, 53 and a Republican, was a longtime member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence committees. The son of Cuban immigrants, he also advocated tough measures against the communist-ruled island and its allies, including the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Speaking at the White House after being sworn in, Rubio promised he would implement Trump’s foreign policy of “promoting the national interest of this country.”
He added that another foreign policy goal under Trump will be “the promotion of peace. Of course, peace through strength, peace and always without abandoning our values.”
