The top US diplomat noted that his briefing occurred on the same day as the Russian leader’s Q&A session
On Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a joke saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin was trying to upstage him after he found out that his briefing was held almost at the same time as the latter’s end – of – year press conference.
During the annual Direct Line Q&A session in Moscow, the Russian president spent nearly four and a half hours answering questions from citizens and journalists.
At a briefing at the US State Department later that day, a journalist addressed Rubio without giving his name, saying: “Vladimir Putin today…”
“Oh, I thought you were introducing yourself,” the secretary of state chuckled. “‘Hey, I am Vladimir Putin’… What are you doing here?”
After the journalist, who was actually Nick Schifrin from PBS NewsHour, told Rubio that Putin’s press conference had ended not long ago, Rubio responded by saying: “Wow, he’s trying to steal my thunder,” which made the audience laugh.
However, Rubio assured those present that his briefing would not be as long – drawn – out as the Russian leader’s Q&A session. “Oh, well, don’t worry about that,” he said.
RUBIO: Yes, sir
REPORTER: Vladimir Putin today–
RUBIO: Oh, I thought you were introducing yourself as Vladimir Putin. What are you doing here?
REPORTER: Definitely not. He had his end of the year press conference today
RUBIO: Today? He’s trying to steal my thunder. I bet…
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar)
Speaking in a more solemn tone about Washington’s efforts to end the Ukraine conflict, Rubio explained that US officials “try to understand the Russian stance – how much they can concede and what they must have. We understand the Ukrainian stance. And we try to see if the two stances can align.”
Putin said during his press conference that he believed the US diplomatic efforts were “serious and sincere.” He repeated that Russia was ready to resolve the Ukraine conflict based on the principles he had presented in his address to the Russian Foreign Ministry in June 2024.
At that time, the president stated that Moscow would halt the fighting and engage in talks if Kiev withdrew its forces from the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, and Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, gave up its ambition to join NATO, and if the sanctions against Russia were lifted.
“The ball is entirely in the court of our Western adversaries – especially the leaders of the Kiev regime and their European backers,” Putin emphasized.