US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that the United States no longer grants Ukraine weapons or money directly, but sells them through a European funding mechanism via NATO. Rubio explained in an interview with Fox News following a meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and several European leaders: “We no longer give Ukraine weapons or money… We now sell them weapons, and European countries pay the price through NATO, which then transfers them to Ukraine.” This came during a White House meeting attended by the Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

It was the first time the White House hosted so many top leaders simultaneously, which Trump considered evidence of the importance of the issue. During the meeting, Trump had a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, discussing the possibility of a meeting between Putin and Zelensky as a prelude to trilateral talks. Russian President’s aide Yuri Ushakov stated that the Russian and American leaders confirmed the importance of continuing direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv, with the possibility of elevating their level in the near future.