Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave positive signs about the pace of ongoing peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine on Sunday.

United States officials have mediated peace talks between the two warring countries and launched a new round of talks last week on a framework put together by the Trump administration. The White House initially proposed a 28-point agreement that covered a number of issues, including security guarantees for Ukraine and Russia’s re-acceptance into the global economy.

“There are a couple issues that we need to continue to work on. But I think the report today is that today was worthwhile,” Rubio told reporters on Sunday. “It was probably the most productive day we have had on this issue, maybe in the entirety of our engagement, but certainly in a very long time.”

“I can tell you that the items that remain are not insurmountable, we just need more time than what we have today,” the secretary said.

He added that President Donald Trump is “quite pleased … about the amount of progress that’s been made.”

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The president on Sunday morning appeared irked by the state of negotiations, posting on social media that “UKRAINE ‘LEADERSHIP’ HAS EXPRESSED ZERO GRATITUDE FOR OUR EFFORTS, AND EUROPE CONTINUES TO BUY OIL FROM RUSSIA.”

Several hours later, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a statement that in part expressed gratitude to the United States and Trump.

“Ukraine is grateful to the United States, to every American heart, and personally to President Trump for the assistance that – starting with the Javelins – has been saving Ukrainian lives,” Zelensky wrote.

“It is important not to forget the main goal – to stop Russia’s war and prevent it from ever igniting again. And to achieve that, peace must be dignified,” he continued. “That is why we work so carefully on every point, on every step toward peace. Everything must work out the right way – so that this war is truly ended and so that it does not happen again.”

Trump has set a deadline of Thanksgiving to wrap up negotiations over the peace agreement, and Rubio on Sunday said the goal was to reach a deal “as soon as possible.”

The White House on Sunday released a joint statement on the negotiations, affirming what Rubio stated.

“Both sides agreed the consultations were highly productive. The discussions showed meaningful progress toward aligning positions and identifying clear next steps. They reaffirmed that any future agreement must fully uphold Ukraine’s sovereignty and deliver a sustainable and just peace. As a result of the discussions, the parties drafted an updated and refined peace framework,” the statement reads in part.

“Final decisions under this framework will be made by the Presidents of Ukraine and the United States. Both sides reiterated their readiness to continue working together to secure a peace that ensures Ukraine’s security, stability, and reconstruction,” the statement concludes.

Five years ago, as a state assemblyman, New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani called to defund the police. Today, he supports funding the department, but not expanding its ranks, putting himself at odds with Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch’s repeated warnings.

“The reason I made the decision to retain commissioner Tisch is because of the importance of outcomes,” stated the 34-year-old New York City mayor-elect on Sunday’s “Meet the Press.” “The fact that she has been able to deliver on rooting out corruption while lowering crime is something to be celebrated, and I think the commissioner and I have been very clear that what brings us together is a shared importance of public safety — I think we can do that with the officers we have.”

Tisch, however, argues the very outcomes Mamdani retained her for happened “against all odds.”

“The crime reductions we saw last year were achieved against all odds and are entirely attributable to the hard work and the grit of New York’s finest,” she said in a January press conference. “The deck has been completely stacked against our cops.”

Tisch points to low staffing levels and a justice system that “prioritizes offenders over victims,” making officers’ jobs far more difficult. Her plan to sustain the city’s gains emphasizes hiring more police and confronting what she calls “surging recidivism,” which is when repeat offenders cycle through the system.

Alongside Mayor Eric Adams in November, Tisch supported a plan to fund 5,000 additional New York Police Department officers with a goal of reaching a 40,000-member force by fiscal year 2029.

Mamdani insists the force should stay at 35,000.

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“I’ve said over the course of the campaign that I think the number we’ve had budgeted of 35,000 officers is a sufficient number,” he said. “What we have to do, however, is to allow those officers to focus on policing.”

Mamdani noted the New York Police Department responds to 200,000 mental health calls a year. He plans to build a Department of Community Safety and “task it with the mental health crisis, the homelessness crisis, and allow officers to focus on serious crimes…”

Tisch argues that lasting progress requires fixing legislation. “The key driving factor is the revolving door of our criminal justice system, created in large part by legislative changes that took effect in 2020.”

Tisch has repeatedly spotlighted high-profile cases of recidivism, including a career criminal who allegedly robbed a Queens deli at gunpoint before shooting a New York Police Department officer and an innocent bystander. The suspect had 17 prior arrests, many occurring while on lifetime parole.

“Imagine how disheartening it is for our cops to be out there arresting the same people for the same crimes in the same neighborhoods day after day,” the commissioner said.

The Trump administration backs Mamdani’s decision to keep Jessica Tisch as New York City’s police commissioner.

Trump’s National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett recently said, “We are really reassured that [Mamdani has] kept the police commissioner. In previous administrations in New York, we have seen law and order really go South.”