Marco Rubio, speaking from the NATO summit in The Hague on Tuesday, told European leaders straight up that the United States is not going to throw new sanctions at Russia just because Europe wants it.

In an interview with Politico’s Dasha Burns, Marco said President Donald Trump still wants to leave space for talks with Vladimir Putin, and punishing Moscow right now would destroy any shot at a negotiated peace deal with Ukraine.

“If we did what everybody here wants us to do, and that is come in and crush them with more sanctions, we probably lose our ability to talk to them about the ceasefire, and then who’s talking to them?” Marco said.

That answer came hours before Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, and several European heads of state were expected to personally urge Trump to ramp up economic pressure on Russia.

But Trump clearly has no intention of letting Europe dictate U.S. foreign policy, especially when it has to do with his favorite man on the continent, Mr. Vlad Putin. His team is instead focused on keeping lines to the Kremlin open, even though Russia’s military is still pushing deep into Ukraine.

Marco said Trump is working with Congress to make sure he’s got enough flexibility to act, but added that once new sanctions are triggered, the talks are done. “If he does it, you’re almost admitting that this is not going to be negotiated anytime soon,” Marco told Dasha.

Rubio says battlefield goals are replacing diplomacy

As peace talks stall, Marco believes Russia is aiming to win by force what it couldn’t secure in negotiations. “Our sense of it is that the Russians are going to try to achieve in the battlefield what they’ve demanded at the negotiating table, which is certain territories [maintain] their administrative lines and the like,” Marco said. He insisted Washington disagrees with that assessment but acknowledged that Russia isn’t acting like it wants peace.

Still, Marco insisted, “We’re going to continue to engage. In the sense that if there’s an opportunity for us to make a difference and get them to the table, we’re going to take it.”

But while the U.S. wants to keep trying, Russia just kicked off a new summer offensive in Ukraine, ignoring every call from Kyiv and its Western allies to pause attacks and agree to a full ceasefire. Europe is demanding sanctions, but the White House is holding off. Trump wants a deal. Europe wants consequences. That’s the current split.

Trump told reporters that Putin recently called him and offered help, but not the kind Trump was looking for. “You know, Vladimir called me up. He said, can I help you with Iran? I said, ‘no, I don’t need help with Iran. I need help with you.’ And I hope we’re going to be getting a deal done with Russia, which is a shame. Six thousand soldiers died last week,” Trump said before heading into meetings.

He didn’t give any other info about what kind of deal he’s chasing, but he made it clear that he’s still trying to keep diplomacy alive. Trump is also expected to meet Zelenskyy at the summit.

Russia-Iran ties grow as Israel conflict escalates

While the world focuses on Ukraine, Russia, and Iran have deepened military and nuclear ties. The two have become close since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Iran has sent Moscow thousands of Shahed drones, now used regularly in bombing runs on Ukrainian cities.

That alliance goes beyond drones. Despite being under international sanctions, both countries continue to push their nuclear programs. Russia even gave Iran the Middle East’s first nuclear power plant, brushing off objections from the West.

Meanwhile, things are also boiling over between Iran and Israel. On June 13, Iran launched missile attacks on Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities. The strikes killed civilians, including five Ukrainians, and came in response to earlier military actions by Israel. After days of rising tensions, Trump announced a ceasefire between the two, but it fell apart within hours. There was no real enforcement behind it, and Iran kept firing.

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