Rubio: Trump doesn't want pause, but complete end to war in Ukraine

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stated that US President Donald Trump does not want just a mere ceasefire but seeks a complete end to the war in Ukraine.

"Now, he wants to end the war. He’s not looking for just like a pause. He’s looking for it to end and it’s going to be hard and it’s going to have to move in stages," Rubio said on the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show.

He emphasised that Trump conveyed the same message to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

As for how this could be achieved, Rubio suggested that the end of the war could begin with a ceasefire.

"That’s not been agreed to, not even negotiated, but I’m just saying that – and then opening things like aid corridors and ensuring that both sides aren’t targeting energy infrastructure. So we’ll see how that plays out," the secretary of state said.

He believes that Trump is "the only one in the world that can bring something like this together, but it has to be a global effort."

"It’s not just us, it’s – not just in Europe or NATO. I mean, countries around the world are going to have to participate," Rubio said.

He also stressed that it is Europe that should provide Ukraine with long-term security guarantees.

"That’s going to have to be the Europeans who have to be willing to step up and do that and – but there’s a lot of sensitive issues to talk about: territorial claims, arms control and things of that nature, language and cultural matters, all that is going to have to be worked through," Rubio said.

The US secretary of state stressed that "the US is going to have a stake in Ukraine’s long-term independence".

The Munich Security Conference on 14 February is expected to include a meeting between representatives of Ukraine and Russia, as announced by US President Donald Trump on 13 February.

US Vice President JD Vance is also expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the conference.