'Additional consequences' await Russia if peace effort fails, warns US secretary of state

ISTANBUL

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned on Sunday that Russia will face additional consequences if current peace efforts fail.

"If this whole effort doesn't work out, then there's going to have to be additional consequences for Russia," Rubio told ABC, adding that the US is "trying to avoid that by reaching a peace agreement."

Rubio acknowledged the delicate balance between diplomacy and pressure, warning that imposing additional sanctions would end negotiations.

"The minute you levy additional sanctions, strong additional sanctions, the talking stops," he explained. "At that point, the war just continues."

He stressed that genuine peace requires compromise. "You can't have a peace deal between two warring factions unless both sides agree to give up something... Otherwise, if one side gets everything they want, that's not a peace deal. It's called surrender," he told Fox News.

"You can’t have a peace agreement unless both sides make concessions," he said.

Without progress, Rubio said, the administration may eventually conclude "no peace is going to happen here" and impose more sanctions, effectively abandoning prospects for a negotiated settlement.

Ukraine's presence is key to agreement

Rubio said the meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin made limited progress in identifying potential areas of agreement, even though significant disagreements remain.

"We made progress in the sense that we identified potential areas of agreement, but there remain some big areas of disagreement," he said. "We're not at the precipice of a peace agreement. We're not at the edge of one."

He identified key remaining issues as "where the territorial lines are going to be, questions about long-term security guarantees, and who Ukraine can have military alliances with."

Rubio emphasized that Ukraine must be integral to any peace process. "In order for us to get a peace agreement, Ukraine has to be a part of it. They have to be included," he said, adding that territorial decisions ultimately belong to Ukraine: "It's their territory. It's their country."

He told Fox that Friday's Alaska summit was never intended to produce a final deal since "the Ukrainians are not there."

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a three-hour closed-door meeting Friday, with Putin saying they reached an "understanding."

Following the summit, Trump told Fox News that significant points were agreed upon, with only minor items remaining.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet Trump at the White House on Monday to discuss the proposals.