ATLANTA — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio privately told Western counterparts that he doubts Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the G20 leaders' summit in Miami in December and doubts any peace deal on Ukraine in the coming months, European officials told RFE/RL in an account published late on Saturday. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described private remarks made during the two days of G20 foreign ministers' talks in Atlanta, which wrapped up on October 31.

Rubio's public remarks at his closing news conference, reported by this site on Saturday, were already cautious. Asked by RFE/RL whether he believed a negotiated settlement was achievable given Moscow's unchanged position, he said: "I don't know if negotiated peace is achievable in Ukraine. That's what we're trying to find out. I don't think anyone here is claiming that we're on the verge of a negotiated settlement." He said President Donald Trump's envoys, including Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, were devoting much of their time to the Ukraine and Iran portfolios, and clarified that Ukraine negotiations were not discussed at the Atlanta G20 gathering itself.

Source: RFE/RL via EuropeSays, Nov 1

What the officials say Rubio said privately

The Western officials said Rubio's private assessment also covered Ukraine's potential NATO membership, which he reportedly described as unrealistic in the short term and unacceptable to Putin. Ukrainian news agency UNN, citing RFE/RL correspondent Alex Raufoglu, likewise reported that Rubio made clear Ukraine will not be in NATO in the short term and that he does not believe Putin is ready to reach any agreement on Ukraine by spring 2027. The officials also said Rubio warned that Russia's acquisition of the entire Donbas region would not satisfy the Kremlin's territorial ambitions — it "will not end Russian appetite," he reportedly told the Europeans.

On the Miami summit, which Trump plans to host at his Doral resort in Florida in mid-December, Rubio said publicly: "I don't even know if President Putin is going to come to Miami. They haven't announced that and they haven't confirmed that." The three European officials told RFE/RL he had privately expressed doubts that the Russian leader would accept the invitation. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reported private remarks, RFE/RL said.

The officials said Rubio also defended the administration's decision to invite Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Atlanta and to invite Putin, arguing that diplomatic engagement was necessary to achieve a settlement. "How can you have a negotiated settlement between Russia and Ukraine if you don't have the ability to talk to both Russia and Ukraine?" he later asked reporters, and he cited Russia's nuclear arsenal as a reason for maintaining communication: "It is always important that the United States and Russia have communications at some level because of the danger of escalation in the future." Describing his own interaction with Lavrov in Atlanta, Rubio said the two had not held a formal meeting; they spoke briefly about the possibility of their leaders interacting at the upcoming APEC gathering, with no firm commitments on the G20 summit.

While offering little public optimism about a comprehensive settlement, Rubio identified a limited Black Sea ceasefire as a more achievable objective, saying Washington was examining proposals submitted by Turkey and that India had also expressed interest in putting forward ideas — remarks this site reported on Saturday alongside the Zelenskyy–Erdogan agreement in Istanbul to work on a grain corridor. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, by contrast, accused Lavrov of presenting false narratives and told reporters Russia did not appear ready for peace negotiations. Rubio estimated that around 20,000 Russians were being killed each month, calling it "a very deadly and destructive war," and said he would not rule out an invitation for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to attend the Miami summit, although the decision rests with Trump.