Marco Rubio facing major disadvantage in key meeting with high-ranking official: retired Army general

18 February

Secretary of State Marco Rubio wasn't among the more controversial picks for President Donald Trump's second administration. While Senate Democrats voted in unison against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Rubio enjoyed strong bipartisan support. Not a single Senate Democrat voted against confirming Rubio as secretary of state.

Democrats in Congress, along with Never Trump conservatives, are hoping that Rubio will defend Ukraine and stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin. But retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, in an article published by the conservative website The Bulwark on February 18, fears that Rubio is at a disadvantage when it comes to talks on the Ukraine-Russia War.

"I'm an eternal optimist," writes Herling, who served as commander of U.S. Army Europe under former President Barack Obama. "But my gut, informed by a career spent studying and implementing American foreign policy, tells me this week will not go well. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.… The subject of the Rubio-Lavrov discussions will be Ukraine, a nation that will not have a representative at these alleged peace talks."

Hertling adds, "President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that any decisions made during these talks without Ukraine's participation are unacceptable. Representatives from NATO, the EU, or any European nation have not been formally invited to take part in the sessions."

The retired military leader notes that from a foreign policy standpoint, Rubio is dealing with a much different environment than he was before Trump returned to the White House.

"The meeting between Rubio and Lavrov will not be one of equals," Hertling warns. "As a senator, Rubio was, until late in his tenure, a strong supporter of aid to Ukraine. But he now must represent a more transactional president whose skepticism of Ukraine and friendliness to Russia go back years. Lavrov represents a paranoid, aggressive, authoritarian regime that still sees itself as engaged in a long-term war against the United States and Europe."

Hertling continues, "The hastily announced meeting being held in Saudi Arabia — an authoritarian Gulf Arab state — may have repercussions far from the war that is ostensibly being settled…. The United States and NATO can counter Putin's criminal action and restore international order — not just in Europe, but anywhere an aggressive, authoritarian country might be considering a land-grab. I hope this time my gut is wrong, and that our support for Ukraine continues."

Retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling's full article for The Bulwark is available at this link.

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