If nothing else, Secretary of State Marco Rubio managed to convey his boss’ apparent exasperation.
In a 32-second video posted to YouTube, Rubio dispensed with diplomatic niceties and sat stoned-faced across from his counterpart, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, during a meeting between the two parties on Thursday in Malaysia.
Anyone watching the video would assume that Rubio and Lavrov had serious matters to discuss and major hurdles to overcome.
Indeed, according to Politico, Rubio’s face reflected his mood.
President Donald Trump, of course, campaigned on a pledge to end the now three-and-a-half-year war between Russia and Ukraine. But the president’s efforts to bring peace to that region so far have not borne fruit.
Do you think the Ukraine war will be over by the end of 2025?
In fact, in recent months, Trump has sounded increasingly critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Rubio, therefore, “echoed” Trump’s “disappointment and frustration at the lack of progress” toward peace, Politico reported.
“Our strategy is to continue to engage all parties involved in finding an outcome to this conflict,” Rubio told reporters after meeting with Lavrov.
“We will engage any time that we have an opportunity to do so, like we did today. I echoed what the president said — both disappointment and frustration at the lack of progress.”
As he proved during the recent war between Israel and Iran, Trump wants peace above all.
To many of the president’s supporters, peace in Eastern Europe means walking away from former President Joe Biden’s Ukraine boondoggle. Indeed, since 2022, Americans have spent approximately $175 billion on support for Ukraine.
Early in his administration, it appeared that Trump might wash his hands of America’s and NATO’s commitment to that war.
In a tense February meeting at the White House, for instance, Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance publicly scolded Ukrainian President Volodomyrr Zelenskyy.
That incident occurred only two weeks after Vance scolded European elites for their authoritarianism.
In other words, America’s commitment not only to the Ukraine War but to NATO itself seemed in potential jeopardy.
Since then, however, Trump has somewhat softened his stances toward both Zelenskyy and the European alliance.
At a summit meeting last month, for instance, NATO leaders gave Trump what he has long demanded: a pledge to equalize each member nation’s defense spending relative to that of the United States.
Moreover, after a temporary freeze, Trump on Monday promised more weapons for Ukraine.
Thus, the president has not yet walked away from Ukraine, as many of his supporters would prefer.
Nonetheless, Trump has repeatedly proven capable of securing elusive peace.
With that in mind, if it takes Rubio glaring at Lavrov to drive home the president’s point and further his objectives, so be it.
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