20 min ago
CNN
US Secretary of State Rubio arrives in Turkey ahead of possible Ukraine-Russia talks
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Turkey on Wednesday amid middling expectations for Russia-Ukraine talks in the coming days.
Rubio touched down in the coastal city of Antalya after traveling with President Donald Trump to Saudi Arabi and Qatar.
The initial purpose of Rubio’s trip – an informal meeting of the NATO foreign ministers – has been overshadowed by both the potential talks between Moscow and Kyiv in Istanbul as well as an expected engagement between Rubio and his Syrian counterpart.
The discussions aimed at ending the war in Ukraine were intended to be at the highest levels, between Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin. The Ukrainian president has said he would attend but would only meet with Putin. The Russian President has not agreed to attend, and it is unclear who the Russians would send in his absence.
Trump said Tuesday that Rubio “is going to be going there,” and on Wednesday floated the prospect that he too could attend. “I don’t know that he would be there if I’m not there,” Trump said of Putin.
Trump also said Tuesday that Rubio would meet with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani – an engagement that comes after the US president met with the interim Syrian president and the US lifted sanctions on Syria.
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