Marco Rubio

And I do think long term, there's a conversation to be had about whether the United States needs to be at the front end of securing the continent or as a backstop. to securing the continent. And if you talk to countries on the eastern periphery, the ones closest to Russia, all of them are building the capability to be at the front end, the Poles, the Czechs, all of these different places.

And if you move further west to the richest economies, Germany, France, Spain, they don't spend enough on national security. They're relying on us to be the front stop. And that's not an alliance. That's a dependence. And we don't want that. We want NATO. We want a NATO in which we have strong and capable allies. Finland's a very capable ally. They make weapons. They bring something to the table.

And if you move further west to the richest economies, Germany, France, Spain, they don't spend enough on national security. They're relying on us to be the front stop. And that's not an alliance. That's a dependence. And we don't want that. We want NATO. We want a NATO in which we have strong and capable allies. Finland's a very capable ally. They make weapons. They bring something to the table.

And if you move further west to the richest economies, Germany, France, Spain, they don't spend enough on national security. They're relying on us to be the front stop. And that's not an alliance. That's a dependence. And we don't want that. We want NATO. We want a NATO in which we have strong and capable allies. Finland's a very capable ally. They make weapons. They bring something to the table.

We need more countries like that to behave in that direction.

We need more countries like that to behave in that direction.

We need more countries like that to behave in that direction.

It also happens to be the reality on the ground. First, let me say this. We think what Putin did was terrible, invading a country, the atrocities he's committed. He did horrible things.

It also happens to be the reality on the ground. First, let me say this. We think what Putin did was terrible, invading a country, the atrocities he's committed. He did horrible things.

It also happens to be the reality on the ground. First, let me say this. We think what Putin did was terrible, invading a country, the atrocities he's committed. He did horrible things.

But what the dishonesty that has existed is that we somehow led people to believe that Ukraine would be able not just to defeat Russia, but destroy them, push them all the way back to what the world looked like in 2012 or 2014 before the Russians took Crimea and the like.

But what the dishonesty that has existed is that we somehow led people to believe that Ukraine would be able not just to defeat Russia, but destroy them, push them all the way back to what the world looked like in 2012 or 2014 before the Russians took Crimea and the like.

But what the dishonesty that has existed is that we somehow led people to believe that Ukraine would be able not just to defeat Russia, but destroy them, push them all the way back to what the world looked like in 2012 or 2014 before the Russians took Crimea and the like.

And in the result, what they've been asking for the last year and a half is to fund a stalemate, a protracted stalemate in which human suffering continues. Meanwhile, Ukraine is being set back 100 years. Their energy grid is being wiped out. I mean, someone's going to have to pay for all this reconstruction after the fact. And how many Ukrainians have left Ukraine living in other countries now?

And in the result, what they've been asking for the last year and a half is to fund a stalemate, a protracted stalemate in which human suffering continues. Meanwhile, Ukraine is being set back 100 years. Their energy grid is being wiped out. I mean, someone's going to have to pay for all this reconstruction after the fact. And how many Ukrainians have left Ukraine living in other countries now?

And in the result, what they've been asking for the last year and a half is to fund a stalemate, a protracted stalemate in which human suffering continues. Meanwhile, Ukraine is being set back 100 years. Their energy grid is being wiped out. I mean, someone's going to have to pay for all this reconstruction after the fact. And how many Ukrainians have left Ukraine living in other countries now?

They may never return. I mean, that's their future, and it's endangered in that regard. So the president's point of view is this is a protracted conflict, and it needs to end. Now, it needs to end through a negotiation. In any negotiation, both sides are going to have to give something. up. I'm not going to pre-negotiate that.

They may never return. I mean, that's their future, and it's endangered in that regard. So the president's point of view is this is a protracted conflict, and it needs to end. Now, it needs to end through a negotiation. In any negotiation, both sides are going to have to give something. up. I'm not going to pre-negotiate that.

They may never return. I mean, that's their future, and it's endangered in that regard. So the president's point of view is this is a protracted conflict, and it needs to end. Now, it needs to end through a negotiation. In any negotiation, both sides are going to have to give something. up. I'm not going to pre-negotiate that.

I mean, that's going to be the work of hard diplomacy, which is what we used to do in the world in the past, and we were realistic about it. But both sides in a negotiation have to give something, and that's going to take time. But at least we have a president that recognizes that our objective is this.