Rubio defends Trump's approach to Russia-Ukraine war

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) defended GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump saying the Russia-Ukraine war must end through negotiation in an interview Sunday rather than counting on a Ukrainian victory.

“I'm not on Russia's side — but unfortunately the reality of it is that the way the war in Ukraine is going to end is with a negotiated settlement,” Rubio said in an interview with Kristen Welker on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “And I want, and we want, and, I believe Donald Trump wants, for Ukraine to have more leverage in that negotiation.”

Rubio, vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he didn’t know “why we can’t just say that” in regards to Trump’s proposed negotiated deal.

On Wednesday, Trump gave one of his strongest signals so far that he will not fully back Ukraine's aims, saying Ukraine should have “given up a little bit” at a campaign event in North Carolina. On Friday, after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump supported a negotiated deal, saying, "It takes two to tango, and we will." And when asked directly, the former president denied two opportunities to say he wanted Ukraine to win during the last presidential debate against Vice President Kamala Harris.

Zelenskyy and Ukraine's supporters have insisted that all of Ukraine's occupied territory must be restored. But Rubio added that the Biden administration, if pressed on what victory looks like for Ukraine, would also agree that a negotiation is the end result.

“We hope that when that time comes there is more leverage on the Ukrainian side than on the Russian side. That really is the goal here in my mind,” Rubio said. “And I think that's what Donald Trump is trying to say, but he's going to say it like a businessman. But Biden won't even tell us what victory is.”

The Florida senator also danced around supporting Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance for saying that a peaceful settlement could look like “the current line of demarcation between Russia and Ukraine, that becomes like a demilitarized zone” on a podcast recently.

“I think what the deal looks like will be up to the parties when they negotiate it. Obviously, Zelenskyy is not going to come out there and say, from a negotiating standpoint is not going to go out there and predetermine what it looks like,” Rubio said. “So I understand why he wouldn't want to go out there and define what it looks like at the front end.”

He added, “But I think we, as Americans, the reality of it is we are investing billions of dollars into this effort, and it's important that as we invest this money into this effort that we tell the American taxpayer, ‘This is what the money's going toward.’ Ultimately, it's not endless war, right?”

When pressed on whether he would be comfortable with accepting the demarcation agreement Vance proposed, Rubio dodged, saying he would be comfortable with a negotiated deal that ends hostilities and favors Ukraine, “meaning that they have their own sovereignty.” He reiterated that he would not “prejudge any agreement” when asked if that means he did not support Vance’s claims.

“The most important thing here is that these hostilities end and that Ukraine can go back to rebuilding its economy and people can move back. Millions of people have had to leave that country,” Rubio said. “It's been devastating to them. But that negotiation is going to be up to them. I just want them to have more leverage than Putin.”