Secretary of State Marco Rubio is pushing back hard on critics who say President Trump should shun Vladimir Putin instead of negotiating. Speaking to reporters on October 31, he argued that a peaceful end to the war in Ukraine can only come through a negotiated settlement between Russia and Ukraine. He asked how anyone could broker that deal without being able to talk to both countries, which means dealing with both of them directly. Rubio also said Trump does not see meeting or speaking with someone as approval of everything that person does or stands for, and he described the president as a practical, business-minded leader rather than a product of the traditional foreign-policy establishment.

Rubio was also frank about the odds, saying he doesn't know whether a negotiated peace is achievable and that nobody is claiming a settlement is close. US-mediated direct talks between Russia and Ukraine took place earlier this year but have not resumed, even though both sides say they are open to meeting again. Rubio has argued that wars end either by surrender or by negotiation, that neither side is near surrender, and that the US is the only country able to talk to both. Critics, including some Democrats and more hawkish voices, counter that talking to Moscow without added pressure such as sanctions risks rewarding Russia, pointing out that Trump's earlier meeting with Putin in Alaska produced no ceasefire. Rubio has said that if diplomacy fails, more consequences for Russia may follow, so the real question is whether talks or pressure, or some mix of both, will move the war toward an end.