Rubio Vows to Put State Dept at Core of Trump Foreign Policymaking

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks on as he meets with Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi at the State Department in Washington, US, January 21, 2025. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks on as he meets with Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi at the State Department in Washington, US, January 21, 2025. (Reuters)
TT

Rubio Vows to Put State Dept at Core of Trump Foreign Policymaking

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks on as he meets with Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi at the State Department in Washington, US, January 21, 2025. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks on as he meets with Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi at the State Department in Washington, US, January 21, 2025. (Reuters)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio began his tenure as the top US diplomat on Tuesday by pledging to keep his department at the heart of US foreign policymaking and execute what he said was President Donald Trump's aim of promoting peace through strength.

Ending Russia's war in Ukraine would be official US policy, the former US senator said earlier on Tuesday, before he addressed hundreds of clapping and cheering State Department staff filling the building's lobby.

"We want to be at the centerpiece, we want to be at the core of how we formulate foreign policy, because we're going to have the best ideas of any agency, and because we're going to execute it better and faster and more effectively than any other agency in our government," Rubio told State Department staff.

He was proud to lead "the most effective, the most talented, the most experienced" diplomatic corps in the history of the world, he said.

His flattering comments drew applause, but it remains to be seen whether Rubio can deliver on his promise to make the department instrumental in policymaking given Trump's unconventional style that often involves bypassing institutions and conducting personal diplomacy.

Trump aides since last week have asked dozens of senior career diplomats at the department to step down from their roles, replacing key bureaucratic and policy positions with officials that they deem more aligned with their agenda.

“There will be changes, but the changes are not meant to be destructive. They're not meant to be punitive," Rubio said. "The changes will be because we need to be a 21st century agency that can move ... at the speed of relevance."

Rubio, 53, a China hawk and staunch backer of Israel, was the first of Trump's cabinet nominees to be sworn into office on Tuesday, and pledged to carry out Trump's foreign policy of "furthering the national interest of this country."

Rubio was a long-time member of the Senate foreign relations and intelligence committees and is now the first Latino US secretary of state. The son of immigrants from Cuba, he has also pushed for tough measures against the Communist-ruled island and its allies, especially the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

'PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH'

During his confirmation hearing last week, the new top US diplomat said both Moscow and Kyiv would have to give concessions to end the war and suggested Ukraine would have to give up its goal of regaining all the territory Russia has taken in the last decade.

Rubio echoed those comments to NBC's "Today" show on Tuesday ahead of his swearing-in.

"It’s going to be the official policy of the United States that the war has to end and we’re going to do everything possible to bring that about," he said.

Former President Joe Biden, who sent billions of dollars of US weapons to Ukraine after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, insisted it was up to Ukraine to decide if and when to enter peace talks with Russia.

Trump, while campaigning for president, said he would quickly end the war, without saying how he would do so.

Rubio said it would be "complicated ... because every side's going to have to give something."

"The only way conflicts like this end is ... not in public pronouncements," Rubio said. "They end in hard, vibrant diplomacy that the US seeks to engage in, in the hopes of bringing an end to this conflict that’s sustainable, in a way that assures the security of Ukraine and our partners in the region, but that stops the killing and the dying and the destruction that we’ve been seeing for quite a while now."

Speaking at the White House after he was sworn in, Rubio promised he would carry out Trump's foreign policy of "furthering the national interest of this country."

He added that another foreign policy goal under Trump will be "the promotion of peace. Of course, peace through strength, peace and always without abandoning our values."



Ukrainians Worry about Trump Effort to End War with Russia, Though Some Hope for the Best

A flower vendor waits for customers a day before St. Valentine's Day on a street in the city of Kramatorsk, on February 13, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
A flower vendor waits for customers a day before St. Valentine's Day on a street in the city of Kramatorsk, on February 13, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
TT

Ukrainians Worry about Trump Effort to End War with Russia, Though Some Hope for the Best

A flower vendor waits for customers a day before St. Valentine's Day on a street in the city of Kramatorsk, on February 13, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
A flower vendor waits for customers a day before St. Valentine's Day on a street in the city of Kramatorsk, on February 13, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)

Ukrainians on Thursday worried that US President Donald Trump was preparing to sell out their country following his phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, though some expressed cautious hope over his effort to swiftly end the war.

Trump's call to the Russian president - the first by a US leader since Moscow's February 2022 invasion - followed remarks by his defense chief that cast doubt over the full restoration of Ukraine's borders and its aspiration to join the NATO alliance.

"It truly looks as if they want to surrender Ukraine, because I don't see any benefits for our country of these negotiations or Trump's rhetoric," said Kyiv resident Myroslava Lesko, 23, standing near a sea of flags downtown honoring fallen troops.

Ukraine has tried to urgently forge close ties with the new Trump administration, offering a minerals deal to win US favor, while Russian forces, already occupying a fifth of Ukraine, keep up battlefield pressure.

Ukraine wants the White House to back any peace talks with security guarantees that would stop Russia invading again.

The Trump call with Putin on Wednesday and remarks by Pete Hegseth, who said NATO membership for Ukraine was unrealistic and that the US would not be sending in troops as peacekeepers, have shocked some of Kyiv's allies who believe Washington is sacrificing negotiating leverage.

Trump spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy after his call with Putin.

In interviews with Reuters, Kyiv residents reacted to the prospect of fast-track peace talks with a mix of dismay and careful optimism.

"Trump is a strong-willed person," said 60-year-old Hryhoriy Buhoyets. "He can decide on whatever he wants, and regarding Ukraine, I think he has some plans."

Maksym Zhorin, deputy commander of the Third Assault Brigade fighting in the war, wrote on the Telegram app that he had not expected Ukraine to receive quick NATO membership anyway.

"NATO is not ready for war with the Russian Federation. This is evident from their reaction to events and behavior," he said.

Tymofiy Mylovanov, president of the Kyiv School of Economics, said it looked like the Trump administration's views were in fact largely in keeping with those of the previous Joe Biden administration.

Some Ukrainians have expressed frustration that the US under Biden, despite providing billions in military aid, had not done enough to tip the war in Kyiv's favor.

"The difference between Biden and Trump is that Trump says out loud what Biden was thinking and doing about Ukraine," Mylovanov wrote on X.

'FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS'

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told Le Monde newspaper in an interview released on Thursday that Ukraine and Europe should not be excluded from future peace talks.

Oleksandr Merezhko, head of the Ukrainian parliament's foreign affairs committee, told Reuters it would be crucial "to establish systematic contact between Zelenskiy and Trump, so that they talk constantly rather than episodically".

He added that Ukraine should keep pushing for NATO membership despite Hegseth's comments: "Our survival depends on this. We will keep knocking on the door ... until it opens, because we have no other choice."

Another lawmaker urged Ukrainians - many of whom have lost family members in fighting that has killed tens of thousands and ravaged swathes of the country - not to jump to any conclusions after the remarks.

"Ukraine doesn't exist because someone had a good conversation on the phone with someone. We survived because we showed the world that we can fight," said opposition member Oleksii Honcharenko.

Some officials, who have been lavishing praise on Trump in their effort to build relations, have tried to quickly extinguish what one of them described as "too many unnecessary rumors and conspiracy theories".

"A difficult process of fighting for Ukraine lies ahead, and we will go through it in unity," said Daria Zarivna, an adviser to Zelenskiy's chief of staff.

Olena Chiupika, 38, a manager in Kyiv, said Ukraine had already proven successful at securing foreign support that had once seemed unrealistic, citing the F-16 fighter jets provided by allies.

"I'm hoping for the best," she said. "I would like to, because the mood is not great."

The next diplomatic test for Ukraine is expected at the Munich Security Conference this weekend when Zelenskiy is likely to meet US Vice President JD Vance.

Hanna Maliar, a former deputy defense minister, appeared to acknowledge the uncertainty of the moment.

"Fasten your seatbelts. We're taking off," she said shortly after news broke of Trump's call with Putin. "A fascinating journey awaits us. The final destination is so far unknown."