Rubio's influence has changed Trump's stance on Russia – Bloomberg
US President Donald Trump dramatically changed his position on Russia this week, introducing the first direct sanctions of his second term – a sudden shift that was reportedly influenced in part by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Source: Bloomberg, as reported by European Pravda
Details: Unnamed sources told Bloomberg that Rubio cancelled a planned in-person meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after the two spoke by phone and it became clear the Kremlin was once again seeking to stall ceasefire talks and prolong the war.
The US state secretary judged that Moscow had made no meaningful changes to its position, according to American and European sources familiar with the matter.
Rubio's influence on the administration's change of course reflects his broader role as the top US diplomat. He has also pushed for a more assertive approach towards Venezuela while serving as Trump's acting national security adviser.
His stance contrasts with the more conciliatory strategy on Russia advocated by Trump's long-time friend and special envoy, Steve Witkoff.
White House press secretary Anna Kelly rejected this characterisation of Rubio's role.
Quote from Kelly: "President Trump always leads on foreign policy, and his agenda is executed by national security officials like Secretary Rubio and Special Envoy Witkoff, who are one, unified team behind the President's America First vision."
More details: Bloomberg notes that there is no indication that Witkoff has lost Trump's trust on Russia or his wider influence.
Some sources said Witkoff's discussions with Putin and other senior officials ahead of the previous summit in Alaska caused confusion and created the false impression that Moscow was willing to make concessions it never intended to honour.
The sources added that the August summit was tense because Putin insisted on negotiations about Ukrainian territory, which frustrated Trump and nearly caused him to leave the room. This time, Rubio led the preparatory groundwork.
The State Department earlier described Rubio's conversation with Lavrov as productive. When asked about Rubio's role, department spokesman Tommy Pigott said that the "entire team is fully unified around President Trump's leadership". People suggesting otherwise are wrong, he said.
Background: Kremlin special envoy Kirill Dmitriev arrived in the United States for talks shortly after Trump announced tough new sanctions against Russia.
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