US secretary of state: We are closer to peace than we were two weeks ago

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stated that achieving peace in Ukraine still requires significant effort, though he is convinced that "we are closer" to it than "we were two weeks ago".

Rubio noted in an interview with Fox News Radio published by the US Department of State that US President Donald Trump wants the Russo-Ukrainian war to end as soon as possible.

"I think there’s a lot to be worked on, but we’re closer [to achieving peace – ed.] than we were two weeks ago or closer than we were six months ago," he said. 

Rubio said that last week in Saudi Arabia, "we got a good commitment" from Ukraine for Trump’s proposed plan.

"They agreed to stop shooting and freeze everything where it is, and we can get to talking about how to end this permanently. And now we got to get something like that from the Russians," he added. 

He also mentioned the visit by Trump's Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, to Moscow, where he met with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.

"[He] came back with some information, but we’ll know more tomorrow after the President speaks to Putin. And hopefully we’ll be in a better place," Rubio added.

Trump plans to speak with Vladimir Putin on Tuesday 18 March to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.

The White House believes that US President Donald Trump is determined to end Russia's war against Ukraine, and the world is now "on the 10th yard line" of peace.