Russia Ukraine peace deal pushed more as talks in Miami are this weekend

Описание: (ASSOCIATED PRESS) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio was hopeful but clear about the challenges facing the Trump administration’s Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas peace efforts and defended increasing U.S. military pressure on Venezuela during a marathon end-of-year news conference Friday.

In a freewheeling exchange with reporters running more than two hours, Rubio offered no predictions for timing or success on any of those three issues. He also said he was proud of President Donald Trump’s radical overhaul in foreign assistance and that the administration was working to reach a humanitarian ceasefire in Sudan in time for the new year.

Rubio’s rare and lengthy appearance in the State Department briefing room came as key meetings on Gaza and Russia-Ukraine are being held in Miami on Friday and Saturday after a tumultuous year in U.S. foreign policy. Rubio has assumed the additional role of national security adviser and emerged as a staunch defender of Trump’s “America First” priorities on issues ranging from visa restrictions to a shakeup of the State Department bureaucracy.

Rubio spoke about peace efforts as national security officials from Britain, France and Germany were taking part in talks in Florida with Ukraine’s lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov, and envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to discuss the latest iteration of Trump’s Ukraine-Russia peace proposal.

A White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said Witkoff and Kushner, who is Trump’s son-in-law, also would see Egyptian, Turkish and Qatari officials Friday for talks on how to get to the next phase of Trump’s plan to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.