Trump’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio heads to Florida to hammer out Russia-Ukraine peace deal
President Donald Trump’s top foreign policy negotiators are closing in on a potential deal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, flanked by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, met with representatives of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Ukrainian government in Florida on Sunday to fine-tune a 28-point peace plan to end the war in Ukraine.
Speaking to the press before today’s negotiations, Rubio shared that he aims to develop an agreement that will ensure that Ukraine “never experiences war again.”
“This is not just about ending a war, this is about ending a war in a way that creates a mechanism and a path forward that will allow them to be independent and sovereign and never have another war again,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in remarks kicking off Sunday’s meeting.
First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Sergiy Kyslytsya, Shared on X He said the discussions were a ‘good start to the ongoing meeting’, adding that the process had been ‘very interesting and constructive so far’.
Kyslytsya also added that there was a ‘warm atmosphere conducive to a potential progressive outcome’.
The 28-article peace plan presented by the Trump administration was criticized earlier this week for being too pro-Russian; This criticism was also voiced by members of Trump’s own political party.
Congressman Mike Turner, an Ohio Republican and member of the House armed services committee, told CBS News: ‘You can’t be pro-America first and pro-Russia, because Russia is clearly an enemy of the United States.’
White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Jared Kushner listen to a speech by Rustem Umerov (right), who leads the Ukrainian delegation, during a meeting in Hallandale Beach, Florida, on November 30, 2025.
Rustam Umerov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine and head of the Ukrainian delegation, speaks during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the U.S. delegation in Hallandale Beach, Florida, on November 30, 2025.
Firefighters try to extinguish a fire after a Russian attack hit the central market in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region
Turner also added that Russia is “fielding new, advanced nuclear weapons specifically targeting the United States” and has also launched sustained cyberattacks on the United States.
Commenting on Rubio’s negotiations, Rubio also added: ‘This peace arrangement should be one where you have to look at Russia as a skeptical adversary.’
A leaked call first reported by Bloomberg revealed how Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff maneuvered to expedite Putin’s access to Trump ahead of a critical White House meeting with Zelensky.
The transcript shows Witkoff attempted to connect Putin with Trump ahead of their Oct. 19 Oval Office meeting.
Witkoff also coached Ushakov on how Putin should approach Trump; which suggested that the Russian leader had praised him for the Gaza peace agreement and then followed suit.
People examine the destruction following a Russian attack on a nine-story residential building in the city of Vyshhorod, Kiev region, Ukraine, November 30
Two days before meeting with Zelensky, Trump spoke with Putin. Upon this call, Putin warned that sending a Tomahawk would harm US-Russia relations. Trump reversed course on missiles.
Bloomberg reported that the talks helped shape a 28-point, later 19-point peace proposal that supported Russian interests.
In a post on social media site Truth Social last week, Trump wrote that he ‘looks forward to meeting with President Zelenskyy and President Putin soon, but ONLY when the agreement to end this War is FINAL or in its final stages.’
