Secretary of State Marco Rubio is pushing back on the growing skepticism around US-mediated Russia-Ukraine peace talks, and he is not pretending it will be simple. "If it were easy, we would have done it a year ago," he said, adding that Washington understands how hard the task is. Even so, he argued that President Trump and his team deserve credit for the huge amount of time they have poured into the effort. Rubio also made the case that the United States is uniquely placed to bring both sides to the table, and that refusing to talk would guarantee zero chance of a negotiated end to a war that is nearing its sixth year.

The timing makes the comments hard to ignore. A new round of talks in Abu Dhabi is reportedly set for November 10-11, with US envoys including Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff in the mediator role, and post-war security guarantees for Ukraine and Europe are expected to be a core focus. Rubio has also been cautious in recent days, saying the talks are continuing but that he cannot claim an agreement is close, and some in Kyiv have voiced worries that Washington has softened its stance on Russia. Critics of the process go further and argue that Moscow is not truly seeking peace and is betting that Western support will fade. Whether this round can prove them wrong is the question the world will be watching in Abu Dhabi.