Rubio denies split in Trump administration over war settlement

Secretary of State of the United States Marco Rubio called "fake" the article that the US Presidential Administration Donald Trump there are two diametrically opposed approaches to resolving Russia's war against Ukraine. A relevant post by the head of US diplomacy published in the social network X.

"This story is just another example in a long line of completely fake news stories claiming to be split in the Trump administration over how to end the war in Ukraine [Russia's war against Ukraine]. These people are not just wrong, they are literally making it up," Rubio wrote.

Rubio's words were confirmed by the US Vice President, J.D. Vance.

"The media are lying to disrupt the president's plans. It's very simple," wrote he.

We are talking about the publication of the channel NBC News. The article mentions the visit of US Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll to Kyiv last week. He allegedly persuaded Ukraine to agree to a "peace plan". The American official argued that the situation for Ukraine will only get worse, so it is better to reach an agreement now.

The meeting between Driscoll and the Ukrainians was part of an effort by some Trump administration officials to get them to immediately accept a new U.S.-backed peace proposal, even though it took into account Russia's maximalist demands and demanded painful concessions from Kyiv, numerous current and former Western officials said.

Journalists noted that the meeting was just another example of a longstanding split in the Trump administration over how to end the war. This split is indicative of a potential political rivalry between the two former senators and potential presidential candidates preparing for the 2028 elections: Vance and Rubio.

One camp, including Vance, the special envoy Steve Witkoff and other officials, sees Ukraine as the main obstacle to peace and advocates using US leverage to force Kyiv to make significant compromises, the interlocutors said.

The other camp, represented by Rubio and other officials, considers Russia guilty of invading its neighbor's territory and says that Moscow will only relent if it pays the price for its aggression through sanctions and other forms of pressure.

Trump himself periodically leans one way or the other.

"It's been clear for some time that the split exists, but we've never seen it in action publicly like we've seen in the last few days," said a former senior U.S. diplomat with experience in Eastern Europe.

A spokesperson for the US Department of State said in a comment: "President Trump's entire team, including Secretary Rubio, Special Envoy Witkoff, Secretary Driscoll, and many others, are working as seamlessly as they have for 10 months to end this senseless and destructive war."

• November 25, Trump instructed Witkoff to meet with Putin, and Driscoll with the Ukrainian side.
• He expressed hope that Ukraine and Russia are very close to concluding a deal.