‘Not Trump’s war’: Rubio says ‘no one in the world has done more’ for Ukraine peace | Watch

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that “no one in the world has done more” to bring peace to Ukraine than President Donald Trump, defending the US president’s diplomatic efforts.

In an interview to Fox News, Rubio said, “No one in the world has done more to end – to try to end the Ukraine-Russia war than President Trump has. But ultimately, it takes the two sides who are fighting to agree to it… we haven’t been able to get those kinds of results from the Russian side. But again, that’s not Trump’s war. Trump inherited this war. And now President Trump is doing everything he can to try to bring it to an end.”

Marco Rubio:

No one in the world has done more to try to end the Ukraine-Russia war than Trump has.pic.twitter.com/RXHcvG3Yd1

— Clash Report (@clashreport) September 16, 2025

Rubio also dismissed the idea that Russian President Vladimir Putin was emboldened by his recent meeting with President Trump in Alaska, following two reported Russian drone incursions into Poland and Romania this week.

“Look, I wouldn’t say he’s emboldened after the meeting. I would say that this is an example of why this war the President thinks needs to end. Wars generally will escalate. They’ll actually get worse, not better if they continue on the track their on, especially a protracted war like this one which – given that both sides are deeply dug in. I understand that these drone operations are far from the front lines. They have no impact on the front lines. They’re designed largely to weaken one another. And the Ukrainians are conducting strikes in Russia as well. And it’s one of the reasons why the President has said he wants this war to end. This war should end. It’s why he’s expended a tremendous amount of political capital, energy, and time in trying to bring it about to an end.”

Meanwhile, addressing the journalists before departing Tel Aviv for Doha, Rubio hinted at a potential meeting between President Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy in New York “next week”, reported Anadolu Agency.

Rubio reiterated that “no leader in the world” has done more to end the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war than Trump has, saying the US president held multiple meetings with Zelenskyy, “including probably next week again in New York.”

Rubio said he is doing “everything possible” to end the more than three-year-long war, and is working closely with Washington’s partners in Europe on security guarantees, which he argued will be “necessary in any negotiated settlement.”

“He’s going to keep trying. If peace is possible, he wants to achieve it. At some point the president may conclude it’s not possible. He’s not there yet, but he could get to that point,” Anadolu Agency quoted Rubio as saying.

Rubio argued that Trump is uniquely positioned on the world stage to engage all key players in the conflict — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and European leaders.

“If somehow he were to disengage from this, or sanction Russia and say, ‘I’m done’, then there’s no one left in the world that could possibly mediate the end,” he added.

His comments come as world leaders gather in New York for the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), with the general debate set to open on September 23 and run through September 29. The ongoing war in Ukraine is expected to dominate many of the high-level discussions.

Trump, who began his second term in January, has made ending the Ukraine conflict a central foreign policy goal. He met with Putin in Alaska on August 15 in a high-stakes attempt to break the deadlock but failed to secure a deal.

Key sticking points reportedly include disagreements over long-term security guarantees for Ukraine and contentious proposals involving territorial swaps. Russia is currently estimated to control around 20% of Ukrainian territory.

With inputs from agencies