NBC: There's A Rift Between Rubio And Whitkoff Over Ukraine

• 22.12.2025, 19:33

Their views on Russia's war in Ukraine "differ sharply."

U.S. presidential special envoy Steve Whitkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have become rivals for the role of the leading U.S. negotiator on the settlement of Russia's war in Ukraine, NBC reported, citing sources.

The channel cites several cases when Whitkoff acted in foreign policy without the knowledge of the head of the State Department. For example, Rubio was supposed to take part in negotiations with Ukraine in Switzerland, but Whitkoff left there earlier, which NBC interlocutors regarded as an attempt to dialog with Kiev without the Secretary of State. However, Rubio managed to get to Geneva and did not allow the talks to take place without him, the sources said.

In late November, a few days after the Geneva talks, Whitkoff organized a meeting with Ukrainian officials in Florida. According to NBC, Rubio was unaware of Whitkoff's plans and only learned of the planned meeting from questions he was asked by Kiev.

"It's very clear that Rubio has been pulled off this case. He is the one who is supposed to be in charge of all of this," the network's interlocutor explained.

NBC sources say the cases where they believe Whitkoff tried to circumvent Rubio are not isolated. The network's version of the story is that the special envoy and the secretary of state have "sharply different views on how to end the war in Ukraine." However, the State Department denies that Rubio and Whitkoff are not finding common ground.

"There is not and never has been a disagreement between them. Secretary Rubio and Special Envoy Whitkoff have a close working relationship and are friends. Both fully share the president's goals and each is realizing Trump's vision of ending war and achieving peace in full cooperation," U.S. State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott commented on the NBC piece.