After U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll confronted Ukraine’s acting President Volodymy Zelenskyy on Nov. 20 with some reality regarding the war situation and presented Kiev with their best option not to lose even more territory, Zelenskyy was somewhat chastised on that evening’s video report to the country. After U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s session in Geneva with Ukraine’s negotiators on Nov. 23, Zelenskyy has dug in his heels, and Europe’s Coalition of the Willing no longer even feels it necessary to push their obligatory counterproposal.
Yesterday, Politico’s “Rubio Changes the Tack of Trump’s Ukraine Negotiations After Week of Chaos” cited “four people familiar with the discussions” to explain that it was Rubio who has pulled their bacon out of the fire. One told Politico yesterday: “We believe that Marco Rubio’s engagement in the continuation of talks is important.” While Driscoll had presented the one-week deadline on Kiev, Rubio changed the pace. “After yesterday, it has slowed down, and that’s good.”
Quoting Politico: “Before Rubio showed up in Switzerland, it largely felt like Vice President J.D. Vance, via his close friend Driscoll, was leading the process. By the end of the weekend, Rubio had taken the reins because the conversations became more flexible, the official said.
