Reuters reported on Friday that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to be absent from a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels next week.
Reuters cited two US officials speaking on condition of anonymity. According to the report, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau will represent the White House in Rubio’s stead.
Kyiv Post has not verified the Reuters report. Even if it is accurate, Rubio has time to change his mind between now and Dec. 3.
It is rare for a US Secretary of State to miss one of the NATO defense ministers meetings. In 2017, during US President Donald Trump’s first term, then US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson planned to miss the NATO meeting in favor of attending a G7 summit and traveling on to Moscow. However, it was ultimately rescheduled to accommodate him.
As per the BBC, the last time a US Secretary of State actually missed such a meeting was in 2003, in the midst of the Iraq war.
Reuters offered no explanation for why Rubio would intend to be absent from the talks, reporting that the US State Department had declined to comment.
Also on Friday, Russia said that it had received the “main parameters” of a US-drafted “peace” plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. US officials, including Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, are said to be expected in Moscow next week to discuss the details.