Rubio explained his stance by saying that the Untied States is focused on negotiating an end to the Russo–Ukrainian war.
During the hearing, Democratic Rep. Bill Keating recalled Rubio’s previous harsh criticism of Putin when the Florida lawmaker was still a senator and asked if he still considers Putin a “war criminal.”
“In the war against Ukraine, crimes have been committed, and there will be accountability,” the secretary said.
“But our goal now is to end this war ... because every day that this war continues, people are dying, more people are being maimed and, frankly, more war crimes are being committed.”
Later, Rubio suggested that maintaining communication with Russia is valuable.
“If there hadn’t been communication between the United States and Russia in 1961, the world might have perished during the Cuban Missile Crisis,” he added.
Notably, Rubio scolded then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in 2017 for refusing to call Putin a war criminal.
“It should not be hard to say that Vladimir Putin’s military has conducted war crimes in Aleppo,” senator Rubio said at the time, during another Congressional hearing.