U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff decided to skip the negotiations meeting in London, where Ukrainian officials were scheduled to meet with U.S. officials and European allies to discuss peace negotiations with Russia.
Vice President JD Vance voiced his frustration with the negotiations process by telling reporters yesterday that if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky doesn’t accept the American peace proposal, the U.S. will likely “walk away” from the negotiations process.
(Zelensky says he cannot agree to the American proposal as it calls for Ukraine to accept Crimea as a Russian territory, which goes against Ukraine’s Constitution.)
CNN anchor Pamela Brown asked State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce about comments made by Rubio and Vance — specifically about their willingness to “walk away” from the negotiations process.
As seen below, Bruce angerly replied: “It is not something that is fair to discuss on television, speculate about or amuse about.”
CNN Host: You're the State Department spokesperson. It's very fair for me to ask you questions about public information involving Rubio skipping Ukraine talks.
— The Intellectualist (@highbrow_nobrow) April 24, 2025
Trump official: I will not have this discussion on television. You need to accept my answers.pic.twitter.com/trXrol1ED6
Bruce added, “I know you want to have a sense of what ratings might be or pulling people in.”
Brown denied Bruce’s implication and replied, “You’re the State Department spokesperson. It’s very fair for me to ask you basic questions about has been said publicly.”
Bruce replied repeatedly: “And for you to accept my answer.”
Note: On Friday, Brown reported on X: “A source familiar with negotiations for a Ukraine peace deal tells me Rubio was ‘communicating the president’s views’ with these comments, and that Trump ‘doesn’t have limitless patience for people to posture and play games.'”
A source familiar with negotiations for a Ukraine peace deal tells me Rubio was "communicating the president's views" with these comments, and that Trump "doesn't have limitless patience for people to posture and play games." https://t.co/bAJfSmSpyt
— Pamela Brown (@PamelaBrownCNN) April 18, 2025
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