Speaking to reporters at the close of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta, Rubio said he did not believe anyone present was claiming a deal was imminent. "I don't think anyone here is asserting that we are on the verge of a peace settlement," he said, according to Deutsche Welle.
Rubio said envoys for President Donald Trump, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, devote a significant share of their time to the problems of Ukraine and Iran, but he was not prepared to say an agreement was near. His remarks came shortly after Trump himself told blogger Benny Johnson he believed the sides were "close to concluding a deal." Rubio was more cautious at the press conference.
Citing three European officials, Radio Liberty reported that in private conversations on the sidelines of the summit Rubio expressed doubt that Vladimir Putin would attend the December G20 summit in Miami. Nothing on that, he said, had been "announced or confirmed."
RFE/RL journalist Alex Raufoglu, citing European diplomats, reported that Rubio told them in conversations he does not believe Putin will agree to any settlement on Ukraine before spring 2027. According to the same accounts, the secretary of state warned that establishing control over all of the Donbas "will not curb the Kremlin's appetite."
European officials also said Rubio privately called Ukraine's accession to NATO unrealistic in the short term and unacceptable to Putin. The State Department did not respond to a request for comment on those remarks.
Publicly, Rubio defended the decision to invite Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Atlanta and to extend an invitation to Putin. "How can you achieve a settlement through negotiations between Russia and Ukraine if you don't have the ability to talk to both Ukraine and Russia?" he asked reporters. He also cited Russia's nuclear arsenal as a reason to maintain contacts with Moscow.
Rubio held no official meeting with Lavrov; the two discussed only briefly the possibility of contacts between the leaders at the APEC summit. Ukraine talks were not discussed at the G20 meeting in Atlanta itself.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told AFP that Lavrov gave no signals in Atlanta that Moscow was ready for negotiations. She said July, August and September were the deadliest months for civilians in Ukraine.
Rubio named a ceasefire in the Black Sea as a separate goal for Washington. European officials at the talks pressed Moscow to halt attacks that hamper shipping. "This puts global food security at risk, and to some extent energy security as well," the secretary of state said.