U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called fake a publication about the existence of two diametrically opposed approaches to resolving Russia's war against Ukraine within President Donald Trump's administration. He wrote this on the social network X.
"This story is just another example from a long series of completely fake news that claim there is a split in the Trump administration over how to end the war in Ukraine [Russia's war against Ukraine]. These people are not just mistaken, they are literally making it up"
– Rubio said.
NBC News report
The Secretary of State was responding to an NBC News piece about U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll's visit to Kyiv last week. According to the publication, the American official urged Ukraine to agree to a peace plan, arguing that the situation was deteriorating.
Journalists claimed the meeting was another example of a split within the Trump administration. According to them, there are two camps: one led by Vice President J.D. Vance, the other by Marco Rubio.
The first group, which includes Vance and special envoy Steve Witkoff, views Ukraine as the main obstacle to peace and advocates using U.S. leverage to compel Kyiv into concessions. The second group, led by Rubio, holds Russia responsible for the invasion and insists that Moscow will only yield after sanctions and pressure.
Official position
A State Department representative said that the entire Trump team, including Rubio, Witkoff and Driscoll, is working in concert to end the war.
Context
Trump instructed Witkoff to meet with Putin, and Driscoll with the Ukrainian side. The U.S. president expressed hope that Ukraine and Russia are close to reaching an agreement.
