A top priority of President Donald Trump and his administration is finding a way to peacefully end the deadly and destructive Russia-Ukraine war that has raged for more than three years now.

In the view of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the "only way" that war is likely to end any time soon is when "peacemaker" Trump has an opportunity to discuss it directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the New York Post reported.

Rubio's remarks echoed Trump's comments earlier that same day to reporters about how "nothing" was likely to happen in terms of ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict until he and Putin could "get together" and hash out an amenable solution for all parties.

Trump says war unlikely to end unless he meets with Putin

The Post noted that President Trump on Thursday, when asked by reporters on Air Force One about the prospect of peace between Russia and Ukraine, bluntly stated, "Nothing is going to happen until Putin and I get together."

"I don’t believe anything’s going to happen, whether you like it or not, until he and I get together," he reiterated. "But we’re going to have to get it solved cause too many people are dying."

Trump has been adamant about finding a peaceful solution to end the ongoing conflict since before he retook office, and he has been openly critical of both President Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for their counterproductive actions and statements that have made that process more difficult.

Trump-Putin summit likely the "only way" to end Russia-Ukraine war

Sec. Rubio was in Turkey on Thursday to lead a U.S. delegation in peace talks with senior representatives of Russia and Ukraine when he took a short break from those ongoing negotiations to sit for an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, during which he was asked about the president's remarks about meeting with President Putin.

"I think he said publicly today that the only way we’re going to have a breakthrough here -- nothing is going to happen at this point -- given everything we know, after months of working on this, nothing is going to happen until President Trump sits across the table from Vladimir Putin and puts it on the line and puts it on the table," Rubio said.

"I think that’s the only chance we have at peace at this point, given everything we’ve seen over the last few weeks," he continued. "There’s been talks, there’s been negotiations, there’s been trips and meetings. But in the end, I think we’ve reached the conclusion, and rightfully so, as the President has, that the only way this is going to happen -- if it has a chance to happen, the only way it happens is -- is the President directly engages with Vladimir Putin."

Trump is a "lover of peace" and "peacemaker" who wants to end all wars

Sec. Rubio went on to assert in that interview, "The President, frankly, is a lover of peace. He’s -- this is a person that would -- wants to stop wars and prevent wars and end wars. That’s what the President endeavors to do."

"I still don’t understand why some would be critical of the President -- they should be happy that the President of the most powerful nation on earth is a peacemaker who seeks to prevent wars, seeks to end wars, and seeks to stop existing wars," the secretary said.

He added, "I think this is something we should be very proud of, that we have a President that seeks peace, seeks the end of death and destruction -- in this case, in the Russia-Ukraine war which has gone on far too long, destroyed thousands and thousands of lives, and really is going to cost billions of dollars to rebuild from."

Trump to speak with Putin and Zelenskyy on Monday

A face-to-face meeting between Presidents Trump and Putin may come sooner rather than later, as Trump announced in a Truth Social Post on Saturday that he is scheduled to have a phone call with Putin on Monday, in which they will discuss pertinent issues like "stopping the 'bloodbath' that is killing, on average, more than 5,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, and trade."

The president further noted that after his call with Putin, he will speak one-on-one with President Zelenskyy, then jointly with other NATO members, and added, "Hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should have never happened, will end. God bless us all!!!"