US Secretary of State refuses to call Putin a war criminal

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio refused to call Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal. This occurred during a US Congress hearing on Wednesday, May 21.

The Associated Press news agency broadcast the hearing.

Rubio declined to label Putin a war criminal

During the hearing, Rubio was unable to answer Democratic Senator Bill Keating's question about whether he considers Putin a war criminal.

First, Bill Keating asked Rubio if Russia is the aggressor in a full-scale war against Ukraine. In response, the Secretary of State said, "Yes, Russia invaded Ukraine. They invaded them, yes".

The congressman then asked if Putin is a war criminal.

"You can look at instances that have happened there and certainly characterise them as war crimes, but our intent is to end the war," Rubio said. However, Keating interrupted him and repeated his question.

Rubio replied that it would be impossible to end the war without negotiations. Keating repeated his question, asking whether the person with whom the United States was negotiating was a war criminal.

"I’m answering your question, and the answer is that war crimes have been committed, no doubt. And who is responsible for that? There will be a time and place for that accountability. But right now, the job is to end the war," Rubio said.

As a reminder, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio cited two main reasons for the delayed peace agreement. He believes these are things Ukraine and Russia want but cannot obtain.

Earlier, we reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke on the phone with the newly appointed NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte. They discussed security issues, steps to deter Russian aggression, and the format of negotiations on a possible ceasefire.