UNITED NATIONS (Chatnewstv.com) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday told a U.N. Security Council ministerial meeting on Ukraine that Washington has spent “tremendous” effort trying to end the war and urged all parties — including Russia and Ukraine — to push for a negotiated settlement before the conflict spirals further.
“When President Trump took office, he made it among his highest priorities the restoration of peace anywhere and everywhere in the world where the opportunity presented itself,” Rubio said, recapping what he described as a sustained U.S. push involving diplomacy in Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Alaska.
Rubio cited a string of conflicts where Washington has tried to mediate, including India and Pakistan, Azerbaijan and Armenia, and tensions involving the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. But he called the war in Ukraine “an extraordinarily challenge,” saying it cannot end militarily. “It will end at a negotiating table,” he said.
“The longer it lasts, the more people will die, the more will be destroyed,” Rubio said, adding that recent Russian losses have been “staggering,” and that in one month Russian military deaths surpassed U.S. losses in prolonged conflicts such as Afghanistan or Iraq.
Rubio said the administration has proposed a cease-fire along current lines of contact as a possible first step while other details are negotiated and has so far resisted adding sanctions in hopes of a breakthrough. He warned, however, that patience is limited. “The President is a very patient man … but his patience is not infinite,” Rubio said, and “he has before him the opportunity and the options of imposing additional economic costs on the Russian Federation, if necessary.”
The secretary also signaled continued U.S. support for Ukraine’s military capabilities. He said Washington has the option — and in some cases has already chosen — to sell defensive, and potentially offensive, weaponry so Ukraine “can defend itself from this assault.”
Rubio urged Security Council members and other states to do “everything in their power” to end the war soon, calling on both Moscow and Kyiv to engage in negotiations. “This war needs to end,” he said. “But if it does not — if there is no path to peace in the short term — then the United States and President Donald J. Trump will take the steps necessary to impose costs for continued aggression.”
The remarks came amid international concern that recent nights have seen some of the largest rounds of strikes in the conflict and growing reports of incursions into neighboring airspace by drones and aircraft. Rubio warned those developments could signal escalation, underscoring his call for urgent diplomacy.
Rubio framed the U.S. approach as a mix of diplomacy and leverage, saying Washington has engaged relentlessly at the highest levels but will not hesitate to increase pressure if talks fail. He urged the Security Council to “bring this war to an end before it becomes something that will last another three or four years,” a prospect he said would bring further “destruction, both economic, and at the same time, loss of life and loss of property and loss of futures.”
The Security Council session drew diplomats from key powers and allies who remain divided over next steps, with Moscow continuing to veto or oppose measures it sees as hostile. Rubio’s remarks reiterated U.S. intent to pursue both negotiations and — if necessary — tougher measures to deter continued aggression.
