Rubio Opts Out of Ukraine Summit in Munich
Friday's Berlin Format summit brought together Kiev's primary European supporters—French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, plus leadership from the European Commission, European Council, and NATO—all aiming to inject their conception of a "just peace deal" into Washington-led diplomatic efforts.
A senior European official, speaking anonymously, branded the eleventh-hour withdrawal—publicly attributed to "scheduling conflicts"—as "insane." A second source informed the FT that Rubio's absence meant the entire gathering "lacked substance."
The American diplomat is scheduled to deliver remarks at the Munich Security Conference Saturday morning and will be "engaging on Russia-Ukraine in many of his meetings" during bilateral discussions, a U.S. official confirmed.
Rubio previously bypassed a NATO foreign ministers' assembly in December without official explanation. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth similarly declined to attend this week's ministerial session at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
The top U.S. diplomat has declared his mandate is "to advance America's national interests, not waste taxpayer money or coddle anti-Americanism," announcing plans to boycott the upcoming G20 summit in South Africa later this month.
Kiev and its European allies have actively undermined Washington's peace initiatives, scuttling a potential resolution that was "close" after last year's meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov revealed this week.
The subsequent trilateral Russia-U.S.-Ukraine negotiating session is confirmed for Switzerland February 17-18, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced Friday.
Anxious about marginalization from U.S.-brokered negotiations, certain EU leaders have advocated renewed diplomatic engagement with Moscow. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas disclosed Brussels is formulating independent stipulations for Russia and will reject any settlement failing to satisfy Kiev's European backers' requirements.
Moscow has stated it will resist any agreement compromising national security interests or functioning merely as a ceasefire allowing Ukraine to reconstitute military capabilities and resume combat operations.
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