Rubio says U.S. will find out if Russia is "tapping us along" soon amid push for ceasefire in Ukraine [View all]
Source: CBS News
May 17, 2025 / 5:54 PM EDT
Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke on the phone Saturday with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, to get a readout on the latest talks, as the U.S. tries to determine whether Russia is "tapping us along" in efforts to end the war in Ukraine. "We talked about a variety of things," Rubio told "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" in an interview airing Sunday. "I wanted to get his readout on his view of how the talks went yesterday. They were not a complete waste of time."
The phone call between the countries' top diplomats occurred a day after Moscow and Kyiv held the first direct talks in three years. Russian President Vladimir Putin spurned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's offer to meet face-to-face in Turkey after he proposed direct negotiations and instead sent a lower-level delegation.
The talks in Istanbul Friday broke up after fewer than two hours without a ceasefire, although both sides agreed on exchanging 1,000 prisoners of war each. The United States — along with its European allies — have been pushing Russia and Ukraine for an end to the three-year war.
President Trump, who has expressed frustration with the stalled talks and threatened to stiffen American sanctions unless progress is made toward a peace deal, said Saturday he will be speaking with Putin by phone Monday. That call will be followed by one with Zelenskyy, Mr. Trump said. "Are they tapping us along? Well, that's what we're trying to find out," Rubio told Brennan when asked if Russia and Ukraine are seeking to talk to "buy time." "We'll find out pretty soon."
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rubio-says-u-s-will-find-out-if-russia-is-tapping-us-along-soon-amid-push-for-ceasefire-ukraine/
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