Secretary of State Marco Rubio clashed with “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan, accusing her of pushing a “silly media narrative” throughout a fierce alternate on Sunday.
“You recognize there's concern from the Europeans that President Zelensky goes to be bullied into signing one thing away. That's why you've these European leaders coming as backup tomorrow,” Brennan stated earlier than being lower off.
“That isn't true,” Rubio interjected, as the 2 spoke over one another.
“However that's not true, they're not coming right here tomorrow to maintain Zelensky from being bullied.”
President Donald Trump lately hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska for a extremely anticipated summit targeted on ending the conflict in Ukraine.
The battle, which started with Russia's full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, has resulted in an estimated two million casualties, together with each army and civilian losses on each side. Putin beforehand seized Crimea and backed Russian separatists in 2014.
Trump has been working to safe a ceasefire within the conflict, usually claiming it will by no means have damaged out had he been president, and vowing he'd finish the battle on “day one” throughout his marketing campaign.
The presidents didn't safe a ceasefire through the summit. Nonetheless, each side stated they made good progress and deliberate to satisfy once more.
Trump scheduled a gathering with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, with different European heads of state, to debate what was agreed to on the summit and decide subsequent steps.
Trump has signaled his intention to schedule a trilateral assembly involving himself, Putin, and Zelensky, or a minimum of get the 2 warring leaders in the identical room to barter an final deal.
Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, stated the concessions made on the summit had been substantial, significantly relating to Ukrainian safety ensures.
“We agreed on way more sturdy safety ensures, the Russians agreed on enshrining legislatively language that they'd attest to not trying to take any extra land from Ukraine after a peace deal, the place they'd attest to not violating any European borders,” Witkoff stated.
Brennan pressed Rubio over the contentious Oval Workplace assembly between Trump, Zelensky and Vice President J.D. Vance, the place the Ukrainian chief was “dressed down” after he brazenly mocked the concept of negotiation with Putin.
“What sort of diplomacy, JD, you're [sic] talking about?” Zelensky requested, triggering a complete meltdown between the three leaders.
“We gave you, by way of this silly president, $350 billion. We gave you army gear… If you happen to didn't have our army gear, this conflict would have been over in two weeks… you don't have the playing cards,” Trump fired again.
The dialog ended with Zelensky leaving Washington, D.C. early and an anticipated minerals deal not being signed — although it was later ratified.
Rubio, persevering with to speak over Brennan, rejected the concept that Zelensky wanted safety from being bullied and insisted that the White Home and their Ukrainian counterparts have had dozens of conferences for the reason that notorious assembly.
“We had one assembly with Putin and like a dozen conferences with Zelensky… They're not coming right here tomorrow to maintain Zelensky from being bullied. They're coming right here as a result of we've been working with the Europeans. We talked to them final week… The President talked to those leaders as early as Thursday… That is such a silly media narrative,” Rubio stated.
