British News Agency

In a series of interviews on Sunday, Rubio said that progress was made during the Alaska talks between Trump and Putin, but no ceasefire agreement had yet been reached.

On ABC’s “This Week,” Rubio said, “We’ve made progress in identifying potential areas of agreement, but some major disagreements still exist.”

“We are not on the verge of a deal, nor are we close to one,” he added.

Rubio declined to provide details of what was discussed in the high-stakes meeting between the two leaders, instead telling CBS’s Margaret Brennan that the U.S. is not in a position to make any agreement or rejection decision on behalf of the warring countries.

Despite Trump’s threat of “very severe consequences” for Russia if a ceasefire was not reached, Rubio said additional sanctions would not improve the situation.

On “Face the Nation,” he said, “The moment the President imposes additional sanctions, the talks end. In fact, we are doomed to at least another year and a half of war, death, and destruction. Unfortunately, that may be where it ends, but we don’t want it to end there.”

Still, he said that “some concepts and ideas that Ukrainians could support” were discussed.

“Ultimately, at this meeting, issues were discussed that carry the potential for breakthrough and progress,” he said.

He added that these ideas would be addressed on Monday in a meeting with European allies, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.