Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Russia-Ukraine, Tren de Aragua, South Africa refugees and Middle East

(CBS, KYMA/KECY) - Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation Sunday about ongoing talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Brennan brought up the Vatican offering to host a "direct meeting between Ukraine and Russia," prompting her to ask Secretary Rubio if there was any reason to believe Russian President Vladimir Putin would take up Pope Leo XIV's offer, to which Rubio said:

"I'm not a spokesperson for the Kremlin, but if you saw their statements, I believe yesterday, where they said that they would be open to such a meeting under the right conditions. So we'll wait and see if that's possible. Obviously, the Vatican has made a very generous offer to host anything, by the way, not just a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin, but any meeting, including at a technical level, you know, any meetings that- that need to be hosted, they've expressed a willingness to do so. So it's a very generous offer that may be taken up on. I mean, it would be a site that all parties would feel comfortable. So hopefully we'll get to that stage where talks are happening on a regular basis and that the Vatican will have the opportunity to be one of the options."

Brennan followed by reporting on the Russian Foreign Ministry saying Rubio initiated a call to Sergey Lavrov, his Russian counterpart, over the weekend, with Brennan asking what was the call about and if he's talking about the face-to-face meeting with Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, and Rubio answered saying:

"We talked about a variety of things. We did talk about...I wanted to get his readout on his view of how the talks went yesterday. They were not a complete waste of time. For example, there were 1,000 prisoners that are going to be exchanged, and that, from a humanitarian standpoint, is very positive. He explained to me that they are going to be preparing a document outlining their requirements for a ceasefire that would then lead to broader negotiations. So obviously, the Ukrainian side is going to be working on their own proposal, and hopefully that will be forthcoming soon. And if that does happen, and the proposal that comes forward from the Russian side and for that matter, from the Ukrainian side, are proposals that are serious and viable, then there's been real progress, and we can work off of that. So we'll have to wait and see. But he wanted me to know, and he communicated in our call, that their side will be working on a series of ideas and requirements that they would have in order to move forward with a cease-fire and further negotiations. So we'll await that, and hopefully it's one...it's a document that is close enough to what the Ukrainians want to be able to get to that point and maybe work out those differences."

"I also agree that ultimately, one of the things that could help break this log jam, perhaps the only thing that can, is a direct conversation between President Trump and Vladimir Putin. And he's already openly expressed a desire and a belief that [it] needs to happen, and hopefully that'll be worked out soon as well," Rubio added.

During the interview, Brennan said Rubio has been involved in the Trump Administration's efforts to crack down the Tren de Aragua (TdA), a Venezuelan gang who have been designated by the U.S. as a terror group.

When Brennan asked Rubio if he accepts the National Intelligence Council's assessment saying the TdA are not a "proxy force of the Maduro government," Rubio answered saying:

"They're wrong. In fact, the FBI agrees with me that they are...the FBI agrees that not only is Tren de Aragua exported by the Venezuelan regime, but in fact, if you go back and see a Tren de Aragua member, all the evidence is there, and it's growing every day, was actually contracted to murder an opposition member, I believe, in Chile a few months ago. So one of the warnings out there by the FBI is not simply that Tren de Aragua are a terrorist organization, but one that has already been operationalized, to murder an opposition member in another country."

Brennan and Rubio also talked about the Trump Administration prioritizing bringing some white South Afrikaners to the United States, "despite the increased restrictions on refugees," with President Trump claiming there's a genocide underway in the country.

This prompted Brennan to ask Rubio if he's determining it now, to which Rubio said:

"I would determine that these people are having their properties taken from them...They can call it whatever they want, but these are people that, on the basis of their race, are having their properties taken away from them, and their lives being threatened and, in some cases, killed. These are people that applied and made these claims in their applications and seek to come to the United States in search of refuge. We've often been lectured by people all over the place about how the United States needs to continue to be a beacon for those who are oppressed abroad."

Brennan followed up by asking if there was evidence of genocide, Rubio answered saying, "I think there's evidence, absolutely, that people have been murdered, that people have been forcibly removed from their properties, both by the government, in some cases because of a law they passed, but also because of independent groups encouraged by political parties inside of South Africa."

Later in the interview, Brennan and Rubio talked about the Middle East, with Trump saying he wants to end wars, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was "expanding ground operation" inside of Gaza, prompting Brennan to ask if the U.S. supports expanding the war, to which Rubio said:

"We expand the destruction of Hamas, the ending of Hamas. We support a future for the people of Gaza that is free of Hamas and full of opportunity. That's what we support. And this is a group that came across on October 7 and carried out one of the most vile series of attacks, kidnappings, rapes, murders and hostage taking that we've ever seen. That's what we support. Now that said, we also support an end of the conflict, a ceasefire. We don't want people obviously suffering as they have, and we blame Hamas for that, but nonetheless, they're suffering. And so we are actively engaged, even as I speak to you now, we are actively engaged in trying to figure out if there is a way to get more hostages out through some cease-fire type mechanism. Ambassador Witkoff is working on that on an hourly basis. It's something we're all very focused on and continue to be very supportive of. And I hope we'll have good news soon in that regard, but I think some impediments remain."

To watch Brennan's full interview with Rubio, click here.