Rubio strongly influenced Trump’s sudden shift in position on Russia – Bloomberg
A sudden shift in the position of U.S. President Donald Trump, who for months resisted implementing anti-Russian sanctions, came under the influence of Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Bloomberg reported this, according to Censor.NET.
Rubio’s role
It is noted that Rubio canceled a planned in-person meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after a phone call made it clear that the Kremlin was once again trying to slow down ceasefire talks and prolong the war against Ukraine.
According to the U.S. Secretary of State’s assessment, Moscow has made no meaningful changes to its position, U.S. and European officials familiar with the matter said.
Rubio’s influence on the Trump administration’s policy shift points to his expanded role, and his stance contrasts with the more conciliatory strategy toward Russia promoted by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, the outlet writes.
Witkoff’s talks with Russia and pressure on Ukraine
At the same time, some sources say that Witkoff’s negotiations with Putin and other senior officials ahead of the earlier Alaska summit caused confusion and created the impression that Moscow was ready to make concessions it never intended to fulfill.
Although Rubio sat next to Witkoff in Saudi Arabia when the Trump administration first began direct talks with Russia in February, his more direct involvement this time came as a relief to many European officials. They had voiced concerns that under Witkoff’s leadership, the U.S. might drift too close to Russia’s position and pressure Ukraine to accept Moscow’s demands.
For example, during last week’s meeting between Trump and Zelensky, Witkoff once again pressed the Ukrainian leader to agree to Putin’s demand to hand over Donbas to Russia, Bloomberg’s sources added.
Background
Earlier, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the United States planned to unveil a major expansion of sanctions against Russia on October 23 or 24.
Subsequently, the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on major Russian oil companies — Rosneft and Lukoil. The reason for the additional measures was Russia’s continued lack of genuine willingness to engage in a peace process aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
