As Politico learned, US policy chief Marco Rubio was able to change Donald Trump's team's approach to interaction with Ukraine during peace talks. This happened against the backdrop of discussing and refining a new peace plan.
Points of attention
- By bringing together divergent views within the administration, Rubio successfully facilitated closer cooperation and moved the peace process in the right direction.
Rubio had the greatest influence on the course of the negotiations
According to anonymous sources, US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, in his role as negotiator, turned out to be too brutal and uncompromising.
He presented Ukraine with ultimatums, trying to get approval for the new US peace plan, which consisted of 28 points. Kyiv was not ready for such an approach.
The situation changed dramatically when State Department Secretary Marco Rubio joined the peace talks.
First, the Trump team canceled its deadline for Ukraine, namely to agree to a new plan by November 27.
Second, Rubio listened to the Ukrainian delegation's comments and heeded them.
Rubio found a way to bring other members of the administration (Trump — ed.) to work in Geneva. He reconciled the administration’s divergent views — which had been made public days, and in some cases hours, earlier — and steered them toward closer cooperation.
According to one insider, the peace process in Geneva has finally moved in the right direction.
