Rubio acknowledges Ukraine strains, denies policy shift

MUMBAI

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged tensions with Ukraine on Oct. 20 but denied that Washington had changed its military support policies, as U.S., Ukrainian and European officials pursued peace talks in Oslo.

Speaking in Mumbai after a 45-minute telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Rubio said U.S. policy on intelligence sharing, weapons sales and access to the Starshield satellite system remained unchanged.

He acknowledged possible delays in delivering Patriot interceptors, saying Washington had to balance commitments to its partners with its own defense needs.

“There has not been some deliberate political directive to go out and harm Ukraine,” Rubio said.

Relations have deteriorated over U.S. sanctions relief for Russia and Ukrainian complaints about delayed weapons deliveries and disruptions to intelligence and satellite services. Zelensky later said in Oslo that early warnings of Russian ballistic missile attacks were working again following his discussions with U.S. officials.

Zelensky met U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and European leaders in the Norwegian capital to discuss proposals for ending the war. President Donald Trump’s adviser Jared Kushner joined remotely.

Witkoff was due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Oct. 21 with an updated peace proposal, Axios reported.

Trump, meanwhile, said he was open to meeting Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Moscow has proposed talks on the sidelines of the Nov. 18–19 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, but no meeting has been confirmed. Trump suggested nuclear disarmament could be discussed.

Kiev has objected to negotiations about Ukraine without its participation. Zelensky has called instead for a meeting between himself, Trump and Putin.

Separately, Financial Times columnist Gideon Rachman wrote that European leaders were preparing to speak directly with Putin. He outlined two possible settlements: freezing the conflict along the current front line in exchange for keeping Ukraine outside NATO, or Kiev ceding the remaining Donbas territory it controls in return for NATO membership.