“ US President Donald Trump dramatically changed his stance on Russia this week, imposing the first direct sanctions of his second term – a sudden change that was caused, among other things, by the influence of Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Source: Bloomberg, European Truth Details: Rubio canceled a planned face-to-face meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after the two spoke on the phone, and it became clear the Kremlin was again trying to slow truce talks and drag out the war, the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said. In Rubio’s estimation, Moscow has not made any significant changes to its position, according to US and European officials familiar with the matter. Rubio’s influence on the administration’s shift in position suggests a broader role for the top U.S. diplomat, who also advocated for a more aggressive approach toward Venezuela as Trump’s interim national security adviser. His stance contrasted with the more accommodating strategy toward Russia advocated by longtime Trump friend and special envoy Steve Witkoff. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly disputed that characterization of Rubio’s role. “President Trump has always run foreign policy, and his agenda is carried out by national security officials like Secretary Rubio and Special Envoy Witkoff, who are a unified team that supports the president’s ‘America First’ vision,” she said. However, the agency notes, there is no sign that Witkoff has lost his credibility with the president on Russia or his influence in the broader sensei Meanwhile, some people say Witkoff’s talks with Putin and other senior officials ahead of the previous summit in Alaska led to confusion and the impression that Moscow was ready to make concessions it had no intention of making. The August summit was tense, the people said, as Putin pushed for talks on Ukrainian territory, which frustrated Trump and forced him to almost leave the negotiation room. This time Rubio led the preparatory work. The State Department previously described Rubio’s conversation with Lavrov as productive. When asked about Rubio’s role this time, State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said that “the entire team is completely united around President Trump’s leadership.” Those who say otherwise are wrong, he said. We will remind Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and the Kremlin’s special envoy, arrived in the United States for talks shortly after President Donald Trump announced tough new sanctions against Russia.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Marco Rubio. Photo: Getty Images Source: Bloomberg agency, “European Truth”
Details: Rubio canceled a planned face-to-face meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after the two spoke on the phone, the sources said, and it became clear the Kremlin was again trying to slow truce talks and drag out the war.
Advertising:
In Rubio’s estimation, Moscow has not made any significant changes to its position, according to US and European officials familiar with the matter.
Rubio’s influence on the administration’s shift in position suggests a broader role for the top U.S. diplomat, who also advocated for a more aggressive approach toward Venezuela as Trump’s interim national security adviser.
His stance contrasted with the more accommodating strategy toward Russia advocated by longtime Trump friend and special envoy Steve Witkoff.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly disputed that characterization of Rubio’s role.
“President Trump has always been in charge of foreign policy, and his agenda is carried out by national security officials like Secretary Rubio and Special Envoy Witkoff, who are a unified team supporting the president’s vision of America First,” she said.
However, the agency notes that there are no signs that Witkoff has lost his credibility with the president on the Russia issue or his influence more broadly.
At the same time, some people claim that Witkoff’s talks with Putin and other high-ranking officials the day before of the previous summit in Alaska led to confusion and the impression that Moscow was ready to make concessions that it had no intention of making.
The August summit was tense because Putin insisted on talks over Ukrainian territory, frustrating Trump and forcing him to almost leave the room negotiations This time Rubio led the preparatory work.
The State Department previously described Rubio’s conversation with Lavrov as productive. When asked about Rubio’s role this time, State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said that “the entire team is completely united around President Trump’s leadership.” Those who say otherwise are wrong, he said.
We will remind, Kyryll Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and special envoy of the Kremlin, arrived in the United States for talks shortly after President Donald Trump announced tough new sanctions against Russia.