United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has told his NATO counterparts that it will become clear within weeks if Russia is “serious” about reaching a ceasefire in Ukraine.
The comments on Friday came at the end of a two-day meeting of the alliance’s foreign ministers in Brussels, Belgium.
The top US diplomat spent much of the visit emphasising Washington’s continued support for NATO despite the hardline approach President Donald Trump has taken towards the transatlantic military alliance as well as recent US overtures towards Russia in seeking a ceasefire in Ukraine.
“We will know soon enough, in a matter of weeks, not months, whether Russia is serious about peace or not. I hope they are,” Rubio said.
“If this is dragging things out, President Trump’s not going to fall into the trap of endless negotiations about negotiations,” he added.
“We’re testing to see if the Russians are interested in peace. Their actions – not their words, their actions – will determine whether they’re serious or not, and we intend to find that out sooner rather than later.”
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Rubio was among a US delegation that met Russian officials in Saudi Arabia in February in what the Trump administration described as an effort to kick-start peace negotiations.
However, subsequent talks have yet to yield lasting results as Russia has rejected a ceasefire and agreed to only a moratorium on energy infrastructure strikes following a call between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in March. Both Russia and Ukraine have accused the other of violating the limited agreement.
Trump had initially alarmed European allies by taking a hardline approach towards Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a comparatively conciliatory tone with Russia.
However, this week, Trump said he was “very angry” with Putin and floated imposing secondary sanctions on Russia if it did not agree to a more complete US-backed ceasefire.
Speaking at the NATO meeting, the foreign secretary of the United Kingdom accused Russia of delaying the ceasefire efforts.
“Our judgement is that Putin continues to obfuscate, continues to drag his feet,” David Lammy told reporters.
“We see you, Vladimir Putin. We know what you are doing,” he said.
For their part, Russian officials have said they could not agree to the current terms of the US proposal.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that there was cause for “cautious optimism” after a visit to Washington, DC, this week by Putin’s investment envoy, Kirill Dmitriev.
Still, he said, there is “nothing in the schedule now” for another call between Putin and Trump.
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Reassurance tour
Rubio’s comments underscored his efforts to assure NATO allies of Washington’s continued commitment to the alliance and alleviate concerns the Trump administration has been drifting towards Russia.
Upon arriving in Brussels, Rubio dismissed what he called “hysteria and hyperbole” in the media about the US role in the alliance.
Still, he said he hoped to leave with an understanding that all members are on a “pathway” to increasing their military spending to 5 percent of their gross domestic products.
The Trump administration had set the new target, up from the 2 percent commitment many countries had already struggled to meet, shortly after taking office in January.
In February, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told his NATO counterparts that the US was pivoting away from Europe as it focused on adversaries in other regions.
“President Trump’s made clear he supports NATO,” Rubio said on Thursday. “We’re going to remain in NATO.”
“We want NATO to be stronger. We want NATO to be more visible, and the only way NATO can get stronger, more visible is if our partners, the nation states that comprise this important alliance, have more capability,” he said.
Speaking to the AFP news agency on Friday, NATO chief Mark Rutte said he believed in an enduring US presence in NATO.
“The agenda is not for the US to leave NATO or to leave Europe. The US is here,” Rutte said, adding that the US may “have to rebalance” as it pivots more towards Asia.
“[Trump] has committed to NATO. He has committed to Article Five,” Rutte said, referring to the alliance’s collective security agreement, which says an attack on one member is considered an attack on all members.
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Reporting from Brussels, Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra said that members of the alliance are continuing to grapple with “huge differences about a wide range of issues”, including the defence spending goal.
Speaking to public broadcaster RTBF on Friday, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever dismissed the 5 percent spending requirement as “unfeasible”.
“Key European countries remain concerned about what happens in the near future,” Ahelbarra said, “and whether they will be able to commit the huge financial and military resources to lead their own defence.”