The United States will continue to push for conditions that could end Russia’s war in Ukraine, even if a clear breakthrough remains unlikely. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made this statement on Sunday during an interview on CBS’s Face the Nation.

Rubio Warns of Heavy Toll

Rubio cautioned that if peace talks fail, the conflict will keep claiming lives. “If peace is not going to be possible here and this is just going to continue on as a war, people will continue to die by the thousands … we may unfortunately wind up there, but we don’t want to wind up there,” he said.

Talks in Washington

His remarks come ahead of a key meeting in Washington on Monday. European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with US President Donald Trump. The talks will build on Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, where possible outlines of a settlement were raised.

Rubio said the recent discussions opened space for “potential breakthroughs” and “potential for progress.” He stressed that security guarantees for Ukraine would be an important topic in the upcoming talks.

Settlement Proposals

According to Reuters, Trump and Putin discussed several proposals. One included Russia giving up small pockets of occupied land, while Ukraine would cede a stretch of fortified territory in the east. Another involved freezing the existing front lines.

Need for Concessions

Rubio emphasized that any lasting peace deal would require compromises from both Moscow and Kyiv. “There are things that were discussed as part of this meeting that are potentials for breakthroughs,” he said, while noting that both sides must be ready to make concessions.