Rubio is trying to distance himself from Ukraine and focus on Venezuela – Daily Mail

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is trying to distance himself from the Ukraine issue and focus on Venezuela.

This was reported by the Daily Mail, citing sources.

The outlet links Rubio’s absence from the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels, where the situation in Ukraine was discussed, precisely to this shift in focus.

“For the first time since 1999, a U.S. Secretary of State skipped a meeting of NATO’s governing body, leaving allies stunned,” the article says.

According to the newspaper, Rubio has “immersed himself in another geopolitical theater — Venezuela.” A U.S. diplomat on the European desk, familiar with current discussions in the State Department, told the paper that Rubio’s fixation on Venezuela is far from just policy, but also about power struggles.

“Rubio’s top priority is his Latin American agenda: he needs to satisfy his wealthy Venezuelans in Florida, who are useful for his political future. He sees Ukraine as a losing issue in the MAGA world,” the diplomat said.

At the same time, he believes Rubio does not trust Vladimir Putin and understands that the Russian leader is “playing” U.S. President Donald Trump. Therefore, “to sit down now at the same table with all his European colleagues would mean risking a public clash” with special envoys Steven Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the source said, commenting on the Secretary of State’s absence from the NATO meeting.

The article notes that great hopes in Kyiv had been pinned on Rubio’s influence in terms of neutralizing the ideas of the “pro-Russian Witkoff.”

It is recalled that Rubio recently effectively confirmed that Russia is demanding the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbas.

The U.S. Secretary of State has also said that talks between Kyiv and Washington in Florida on agreeing a plan to stop the war in Ukraine ended without final agreements on the contentious issues.