Rubio: 'Nothing good' comes from Russia's war in Ukraine

Russia and Ukraine should focus on ending Moscow's unprovoked war, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday, warning that the conflict carries a very real risk of escalation and spread beyond Ukraine's borders.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to Uzbekistan, Rubio said: "We see nothing good coming from this war. We see a lot of downside to it, including the very real risk of escalation and spread of this thing... into another country because of a failed sabotage attack, because of drones that are hit with electronic warfare and they wander into a neighbouring country."

Rubio landed in Samarkand on Sunday night to meet senior officials of the C5+1 grouping, which brings together the United States and the post-Soviet states of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. President Donald Trump hosted the C5 leaders at the White House last November.

On Monday Rubio appeared to confirm reports that the United States, Russia and China are in talks to hold a trilateral summit of leaders to discuss ending Russia's war in Ukraine. According to those reports, the proposed summit would exclude Ukraine—the victim of Moscow's aggression—from the table. "There's been talks of a meeting. I don't know whether it's been finalised, but the president has been clear. He'd like the war in Ukraine and Russia to end," Rubio said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier confirmed that a "hypothetical" trilateral summit was under discussion.

Trump has so far failed to broker an end to Russia's war despite a frenzy of US diplomatic efforts since he returned to the White House in January 2025. While Washington has long been a strong backer of Kyiv, Trump has grown increasingly critical of Ukraine and has suggested that President Volodymyr Zelensky should step down. On Sunday, Trump criticised Zelensky for not signing a peace deal with Russia earlier. "He doesn't want to end this war, and probably never did," the president wrote on Truth Social. "He could have made a better deal two years ago than he can now. His country is in shambles."

Ukraine has fought back against Russia's full-scale invasion since February 2022, defending its sovereignty against an unprovoked assault that has devastated civilian areas and displaced millions. Kyiv has consistently said that any settlement must respect Ukraine's territorial integrity and that no negotiations can proceed while Russian troops occupy sovereign Ukrainian land.