Ukraine war
Presence unnecessary: Rubio cancels participation in NATO meetings
Updated 12/02/2025 – 8:42 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
It is rare for a US Secretary of State to be represented at a formal NATO meeting without good reason. Is Marco Rubio making a statement amid the new Ukraine negotiations?
In an unusual move, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has canceled his participation in a long-planned NATO meeting in Brussels. As his ministry announced in Washington, Deputy Foreign Minister Christopher Landau will instead take part in discussions in the Belgian capital. On Wednesday they will be talking about, among other things, continued support for Ukraine.
A valid reason for Rubio’s cancellation was not initially given. A spokesman simply said that it would be completely unrealistic to expect Rubio at every meeting. The minister has already taken part in dozens of meetings with NATO allies and thanks to the strong and visionary leadership of US President Donald Trump, NATO has already been completely revitalized, Washington said. On Monday, Rubio spoke with his German colleague Johann Wadephul about efforts to bring peace in Ukraine, the US State Department briefly announced.
It is highly unusual for a US Secretary of State not to personally attend a formal NATO foreign ministers meeting. The long-time former NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu (2010-2023) wrote after the first rumors about a cancellation became known on the social network “That would send the wrong signal, especially now when America should be coordinating even more closely with European allies on Ukraine,” she commented.
A possible background in Brussels is that at least parts of the US government obviously see NATO as an obstacle to the successful conclusion of President Donald Trump’s latest initiative to end Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The recently announced draft of a 28-point peace plan contained, among other things, a passage according to which NATO should completely forego accepting further members.
In another point, it also seemed as if the USA no longer saw itself as a normal NATO member, but as an outsider. It said: “A dialogue between Russia and NATO will be conducted under the mediation of the United States to clarify all security issues and create conditions for de-escalation in order to ensure global security and increase opportunities for cooperation and future economic development.”
Leading European NATO members such as Germany, France and Italy criticized these passages in the draft text. The Americans then agreed that NATO issues would initially be dealt with separately with the allies. The same also applies to EU-related topics.
