NEW DELHI: US secretary of State
Marco Rubio reiterated that president
Donald Trump wants Russia and Ukraine to focus on ending their four-year-old war. His remarks come against the backdrop of ongoing military operations, with Russia's defence ministry claiming that its forces have struck several military-industrial facilities in Ukraine.
Earlier, Russian president
Vladimir Putin reportedly proposed a meeting with Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping, with no agreement yet on whether the summit will take place.
Speaking to reporters during a visit to Uzbekistan on Monday, Rubio said Trump wanted the war to end, while indicating that a possible meeting involving the three leaders had not been finalised.
“There's been talks of a meeting. I don't know whether it's been finalized, but the president has been clear. He'd like the war in Ukraine and Russia to end,” Rubio said.
Russia's defence ministry said its forces had struck military-industrial facilities, cruise missile storage sites and data centres in Ukraine.
The comments came as Rubio travelled to Uzbekistan for talks with officials from the C5+1 grouping, which comprises the US and five Central Asian countries — Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
He is also scheduled to visit India as part of a wider tour aimed at strengthening economic and security ties with Central and South Asia, Reuters reported.
According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Putin's proposal of a trilateral summit with Trump and Xi was raised during a telephone conversation between Putin and Trump on October 9.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would not be part of the proposed meeting. The WSJ report said the initiative could allow Moscow to seek a settlement favourable to its interests, while raising concerns in Kyiv and among Washington's European allies over Ukraine's absence from discussions about its own conflict.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed to the newspaper that discussions about a possible meeting were underway, but said no final decision had been taken.
“There is no clear understanding yet regarding the meeting itself or its potential agenda, although all three parties acknowledge the hypothetical possibility of such a meeting taking place,” Peskov told the WSJ. However, neither the proposed summit nor its agenda had been finalised.