Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky must make concessions to reach a peace deal.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said "both sides are going to have to make concessions" to end Russia's war in Ukraine.

Marco Rubio clarifies that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy will decide on territorial issues in peace talks, not Trump, following reports concerning Donbas control.

Marco Rubio described Trump as a “President who hates war” and sees it as “a waste of money and lives.” He pointed out that Trump has already mediated six agreements in the past six months and wants to achieve the same with Ukraine and Russia.

The following is the full transcript of an interview with Secretary of State Marco Rubio that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on Aug. 17, 2025.

Trump hosted Putin in Alaska summit on Ukraine war but failed to secure ceasefire, though both sides reported progress and planned future meetings

Trump and Putin will meet on Friday to discuss bringing an end to Moscow's ongoing war against Ukraine, which Putin launched in February 2022. The White House said the Russian leader reached out to request the meeting, to which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was not invited.

The high-stakes summit between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin garnered mixed reactions from U.S. lawmakers and European leaders.  Trump, along with Secretary of State Marco