Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday the “only way” to achieve a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia is for both sides to make concessions.

Rubio made the comments to “Meet The Press” anchor Kristen Welker during an interview on NBC News a couple days after President Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska to discuss ending the years-long conflict.

.@SecRubio: “The only way to reach a deal is for each side to get something and each side to give something — and that’s been very difficult. If it was easy, this wouldn’t have been going on for 3.5 years… That’s why Zelensky is coming tomorrow.” pic.twitter.com/Z5h2tv9wRz

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 17, 2025

“As you can imagine, everybody goes into a negotiation wanting 100% of what they want. That includes Ukraine, but obviously the Russians. And the only way to reach a deal on anything, whether it’s in business or in politics or in geopolitics, the only way to reach a deal is for each side to get something, and each side to give something,” Rubio said.

He continued, “And that’s been very difficult. If it was easy, this wouldn’t have been going on for three and a half years. Understand the longer these wars go on, the harder they are to end unfortunately. Because one side is always looking for leverage on the other, in this particular case, the Russia side as well.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders are expected to huddle with Trump at the White House on Monday. Another meeting with Putin could follow if there is a viable path toward peace.

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Trump has indicated that land swaps and safety measures are part of the discussion, although it remains to be seen whether Russia and Ukraine will ultimately agree to such terms.

During another interview on Sunday, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff told CNN that Putin will not stand for Ukraine to join NATO, but is open to allowing some kind of arrangement that would allow the United States to effectively provide one of its major security tenets.

Tapper: “You mentioned the Article 5 guarantee of NATO…Russia would allow that to happen?”

Witkoff: “That’s not what I said. What I said is we got to an agreement that the U.S. and other European nations could effectively offer Article 5-like language for security guarantees.” pic.twitter.com/gIiT59IdQJ

— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) August 17, 2025

“We were able to win the following concession: that the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO,” Witkoff said to “State of the Union” host Jake Tapper. “We sort of were able to bypass that and get an agreement that the United States could offer Article 5 protection, which was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio unloaded on ABC News host Martha Raddatz over her claim that when President Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at Friday’s summit in Alaska, he had effectively “elevated” the Russian leader on the world stage.

Raddatz brought up the summit, which Trump has touted as a success, and claimed that “people were saying” he had actually given Putin the upper hand by allowing him to walk the “red carpet” and be seen on the “world stage” meeting with the American President.

WATCH:

.@SecRubio nukes ABC for asking about the “red carpet” for Putin: “You’re not going to end a war between Russia and Ukraine without dealing with Putin… [@POTUS] is the only leader in the world that could get Putin to a meeting to talk about serious things.” pic.twitter.com/daqIzXA9H6

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 17, 2025

“Critics of President Trump will say the pomp and circumstance — pomp and circumstance, the red carpet, the warm handshake — that President Trump simply lost that, that Putin gained there just by being on the world stage and walking down a red carpet with the president,” Raddatz said. “Your reaction to that?”

Rubio chuckled before responding, “Well, critics of President Trump are always going to find something to criticize, we don’t even pay attention to it anymore, but I will tell you this: Putin is already on the world stage.”

The Secretary of State went on to point out that Putin, after waging a major war against Ukraine for over three years, could hardly be considered a non-entity when it came to global politics — especially since he also sits in control of the second largest strategic nuclear arsenal in the world.

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“When I hear people say that, ‘Oh, it elevates him,’ all we do is talk about Putin all the time. All the media’s done is talk about Putin all the time for the last four or five years,” Rubio said. “That doesn’t mean he’s right about the war, that doesn’t mean he’s justified about the war. If you put all of that aside, it means you’re not going to have a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, you’re not going to end a war between Russia and Ukraine without dealing with Putin.”

“That’s just common sense, I shouldn’t even have to say it,” Rubio continued, reminding Raddatz that it wasn’t the United States at war with Russia and arguing that Trump did not have to intervene at all – but also noting that he was the only leader with the ability to do so.

Raddatz further pressed Rubio to reveal details from the negotiations, asking what “concessions” Putin may have agreed to, but Rubio refused: “I wouldn’t name them on your program.”

WATCH:

.@SecRubio: “What utility would there be of me going on a program and telling you we wagged our finger at Putin and told him you must do this? … As much as everyone would love it to be a live PPV event, these discussions ONLY work best when they are conducted privately.” pic.twitter.com/8LFJj06Fgq

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 17, 2025

“What utility would there be of me going on a program and telling you we wagged our finger at Putin and told him you must do this?” Rubio asked. “As much as everyone would love it to be a live pay-per-view event, these discussions ONLY work best when they are conducted privately.”