TEL AVIV, Sept 16 (AFP/Reuters): President Donald Trump will likely meet Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky next week and still hopes to broker a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday.
Trump has repeatedly threatened sanctions against Russia if President Vladimir Putin does not compromise. But he has not followed through even as Russia ramps up attacks, frustrating Ukraine.
Trump has had "multiple calls with Putin, multiple meetings with Zelensky, including probably next week again in New York", where leaders will gather for the UN General Assembly, Rubio told reporters in Israel.
"He's going to keep trying. If peace is possible, he wants to achieve it," Rubio said. "At some point the president may conclude it's not possible. He's not there yet, but he could get to that point."
Rubio pointed to a figure previously cited by Trump, saying that Russia lost 20,000 soldiers in fighting in July alone.
Trump a month ago welcomed Putin to Alaska-the first time a Western nation has allowed the Russian leader to visit since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 -- and days later met with Zelensky alongside European leaders at the White House.
Rubio said that Trump was unique in being able to speak to Putin as well as Zelensky and the Europeans.
"If somehow he were to disengage from this, or sanction Russia and say, 'I'm done', then there's no one left in the world that could possibly mediate the end," Rubio said.
Trump came into office vowing to end the war within a day, blaming his predecessor Joe Biden for Russia's invasion and criticising the billions of dollars provided by the United States to Ukraine.
At a February 28 meeting at the White House that stunned US allies, Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly berated Zelensky , accusing him of ingratitude.
Zelensky has since met Trump twice and each time gone out of his way to praise the US president and voice appreciation for American support.
Meanwhile, Qatar and the United States are on the verge of finalising an enhanced defence cooperation agreement, top US diplomat Marco Rubio said on Tuesday, after Israel's attack on Hamas political leaders in Qatar last week drew widespread condemnation.
The attack in Doha was especially sensitive as Qatar is a close US ally and home to the biggest US military base in the Middle East. Qatar has been hosting and mediating ceasefire talks - alongside Egypt - since the Gaza war started nearly two years ago.
Rubio, who was on his way to Doha from Tel Aviv, called for Qatar to continue its role as a mediator between Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza war, saying there was "a very short window of time in which a deal could happen".
"If any country in the world can help mediate it, Qatar is the one. They're the ones that can do it," Rubio said while departing Tel Aviv for Doha. "We have a close partnership with the Qataris. In fact, we have an enhanced defence cooperation agreement, which we've been working on, we're on the verge of finalising," Rubio said, without elaborating.
Qatar called the Israeli attack "cowardly and treacherous," but said it wouldn't deter it from its role as a mediator, alongside Egypt and the United States.
During a visit in May, Trump had assured gas-rich Qatar that Washington would protect it if it ever came under attack. He said he was not informed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in advance about Israel's attack.
Netanyahu threatened to attack Hamas leaders "wherever they are" during a press conference with Rubio on Monday, as the heads of Arab and Islamic states held a summit to back Qatar after Israel's attack last week in the Gulf state.
