Rubio plans to skip NATO meeting at key moment for Ukraine: Reuters

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to skip a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels next week, two U.S. officials said, in a highly unusual absence of the top U.S. diplomat from a key transatlantic gathering, Reuters reports.

Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau will represent Washington instead, said one of the officials, who requested anonymity to discuss matters that have not yet been made public.

It was unclear why Rubio planned to skip the December 3 meeting, and his plans could change. But his likely no-show comes when U.S. and Ukrainian officials have been scrambling to narrow gaps over President Donald Trump's plan to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with some European diplomats complaining they are being cut out of the process.

There are usually two formal NATO meetings of foreign ministers per year, and it is exceedingly rare for a U.S. secretary of state to be absent. In 2017, during Trump's first term, then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson initially planned to skip an April meeting, though the gathering was then rescheduled to accommodate his schedule.

Rubio plans to skip NATO meeting at key moment for Ukraine: Reuters

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