Zelensky has long said Russia, as part of any peace agreement, must return land it unlawfully seized from Ukraine, but Rubio seems to have his ears plugged

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Does Marco Rubio, U.S. secretary of state, have a tin ear? The answer seems to be yes after Rubio said yesterday that Ukraine will have to cede some of its territory in order to reach a peace agreement with Russia. Why would Rubio make such a statement when Zelensky said in November 2022 that a peace deal must include restoration of Ukraine's borders prior to the 2014 annexation of Crimea. Here are all the points included in Zelensky's 2022 proposal:

• A ceasefire and withdrawal of Russian military forces from Ukraine
• Restoration of Ukraine's borders prior to the 2014 annexation of Crimea
• Release of prisoners and return of Ukrainian children deported to Russia
• Protection and restoration of Ukraine's energy infrastructure
• Protection of food distribution
• Nuclear safety, including transfer of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to the IAEA
• Environmental safety, including demining and remediation of ecological damage caused by the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam
• Prosecution of Russian war crimes
• Security guarantees for Ukraine to prevent future aggression
• A multilateral peace conference and peace treaty
  

That seems straightforward and, by any measure, fair. So why doesn't Rubio get it? My guess is that Rubio is little more than a trained parrot for President Donald Trump, who likely doesn't care if a deal is helpful to Ukraine. Trump has shown his main interest is in kissing the butt of Russia's Vladimir Putin, and that is not likely to change. Plus, Rubio and Trump probably know Putin is not about to accept Zelensky's terms.

This is from a New York Times report on Rubio's poorly chosen words:

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said today that Ukraine would have to concede some of the land that Russia had taken since 2014 as part of any agreement to end the war. As he flew to Saudi Arabia for talks with senior Ukrainian officials, Rubio told reporters, “The most important thing that we have to leave here with is a strong sense that Ukraine is prepared to do difficult things.”

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine also traveled to Saudi Arabia today to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has emerged as a mediator of sorts between Ukraine and Russia. Zelensky said he did not plan on attending a meeting tomorrow with Rubio.

On the ground, Ukrainian forces have stalled the Russian offensive and started to win back small patches of land, according to Ukrainian soldiers and military analysts.

That Zelensky is not attending a meeting today with Rubio suggests to me that he does not trust the U.S., especially in the wake of the Oval Office blow-up with Trump and VP J.D. Vance, and he does not see Rubio as a serious part of any negotiations. Those positions seem wise on both points.