Rubio: US president is "losing patience" with Russia over lax approach to peace talks

US President Donald Trump is becoming “increasingly frustrated” with Russia’s failure to make progress toward a peace agreement and is now threatening serious economic repercussions.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the remarks during an interview with Fox News’ Lara Trump aired on July 26, Caliber.Az reports. 

Rubio emphasized that Trump’s top priority is bringing the “conflict” to an end, stating, “It’s not his war... He inherits it, and he’s done everything possible to bring it to an end.”

Despite that Rubio described as “very good interactions” between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin during their phone conversations, he told the Fox anchor, who is the president's daughter-in-law who has been active in the Republican party for several years now, that those discussions have so far failed to produce any tangible outcomes.

Trump, according to a transcript released by the State Department ahead of the interview airing on the channel, “is losing his patience.”

“[The US president] is losing his willingness to continue to wait for the Russian side to do something here to bring an end to this... war,” Rubio said, adding that Trump is now weighing drastic measures — including the possibility of slapping 100 percent tariffs on Russia if no peace deal is reached within 50 days.

Rubio also underscored the devastating human toll of the war, pointing out that “over 100,000 Russian soldiers – just on the Russian side – have been killed” since January of this year.

He accused Moscow of deploying “delay tactics” aimed at prolonging the conflict. “He’s not going to fall into that trap of being pulled into endless talks about talks,” Rubio insisted, attributing Trump’s firm stance to his long experience dealing with “cutthroat people in business.”

Rubio described Trump as the administration’s “ultimate closer,” someone highly skilled in navigating and finalizing difficult negotiations. “That last 5 percent, those last few yards, are always the hardest one in any negotiation,” he said.

By Nazrin Sadigova