Rubio says US sees chance to develop plan to restart Ukraine–Russia talks within weeks
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on September 8 that the United States sees an opportunity in the coming weeks to develop a plan of action to restore peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, following recent visits by US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow and Kyiv. Rubio described the envoys' talks as substantive but said significant obstacles remain and both sides still maintain clear red lines.
Key points
- Rubio made the statement on September 8 while speaking to journalists during a visit to Colombia.
- He said the US sees an opportunity in the coming weeks to develop a plan to restart Ukraine–Russia negotiations.
- Rubio described talks held by envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff in Kyiv and Moscow as 'substantive' but said significant obstacles remain and 'a lot of work' is ahead.
- On September 5, Witkoff and Kushner met Vladimir Putin in Moscow; on September 6, they arrived in Kyiv for the first time for talks on ending the war.
- Zelensky said Kyiv is ready to return to three-way negotiations and proposed the UAE, Switzerland, or Turkey as possible hosts for a next trilateral meeting.
- A personal meeting between the Ukrainian and US presidents has been agreed for September, with telephone contacts also part of the process.
Why it matters
Rubio's statement is the highest-level US diplomatic signal to date that a concrete plan to restart Ukraine–Russia talks could emerge within weeks. It follows a diplomatic shuttle to both Moscow and Kyiv by US special envoys — including the first visit to Ukraine by Jared Kushner — and frames the US as actively mediating rather than pressing for an immediate settlement, while acknowledging the red lines both sides still maintain. It also sets up a planned personal meeting between the Ukrainian and US presidents in September as the next milestone.
What happened
Speaking to journalists on September 8 during a visit to Colombia, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States sees an opportunity in the coming weeks to develop a plan of action to restore peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. He described recent talks by US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner — held in Moscow on September 5 and in Kyiv on September 6 — as 'substantive,' with 'general openness' to proposals and 'new ideas' put forward, but said 'significant obstacles' remain and 'a lot of work' is ahead. Rubio also said no significant progress has been made in achieving compromises between the two sides, noting both still maintain very clear 'red lines.' After the envoys' visit, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv is ready to return to three-way negotiations and proposed the UAE, Switzerland, or Turkey as possible hosts for the next trilateral meeting, which he said could discuss strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, safe grain exports, and humanitarian issues including prisoner exchanges. A personal meeting between the Ukrainian and US presidents has been agreed for September, with telephone contacts also part of the process.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian-language coverage leads with Rubio's framing of a possible action plan in the coming weeks and prominently includes Zelensky's readiness to return to three-way talks and the planned Ukraine–US presidential meeting in September. Ukrainian sources give notable weight to concrete agenda items for a possible trilateral meeting — energy infrastructure strikes, grain exports, prisoner exchanges — and to possible host countries such as the UAE, Switzerland, and Turkey. They also highlight Zelensky's account that he was told 'the Russians are ready for negotiations,' the Ukraine Foreign Ministry's characterization that the peace process intensified after the US envoys' visits, and reported de-escalation steps discussed for the winter period.
Background
US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Vladimir Putin in Moscow on September 5 and arrived in Ukraine on September 6 for talks on ending the war — Witkoff's first visit to Kyiv followed several previous trips to Moscow. During the envoys' visits, Ukraine and Russia reportedly agreed not to strike each other's capitals until September 7. Zelensky said the next trilateral Ukraine–Russia–US meeting could be hosted by the UAE, Switzerland, Turkey, or another country, with strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, safe grain exports, and humanitarian issues including prisoner exchanges on the agenda. Kushner said US President Trump seeks not only to end Russia's war against Ukraine but also to achieve long-term peace, while Witkoff said 'substantial progress' was achieved during the visits and suggested Moscow could show 'new readiness' for negotiations after Russian State Duma elections.