Rubio plans to skip NATO meeting at key moment for Ukraine, sources say

WASHINGTON, Nov 28 (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.

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 exactly Rubio planned to skip the December 3 meeting, and his plans could change at the last second. But his likely no-show comes at a time when U.S. and Ukrainian officials have been scrambling to narrow gaps over President Donald Trump's controversial 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.

A NATO official deferred to the United States regarding Rubio's attendance, but said it was not unusual for some foreign ministers to skip the event.

"NATO hosts numerous meetings of Ministers every year, and while most Allies are represented by Ministers on most occasions, it is not unusual that circumstances keep a Minister from attending all or part of a NATO meeting," the official said.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ukrainian and European officials have been wary of being coerced into accepting a deal that is too favorable to Russian interests, concerns that have intensified considerably after a draft 28-point plan to end the war was leaked to the news media on November 18.

Rubio's absence risks deepening questions over Washington's commitment to European security, which has already taken a hit in recent years.

Washington is the de facto leader of NATO but Trump has repeatedly raised doubts about the alliance's necessity and has suggested at various moments that he could pull out of the decades-old alliance.

Landau, the number-two U.S. diplomat who will attend on Rubio's behalf, questioned the need for NATO in a June post on X, which he later deleted.

Trump reaffirmed his faith in the grouping during a NATO leaders' summit in June that was widely viewed as a success, but he has also consistently pressured member states to boost their defense spending, saying Washington was no longer going to "bail them out."

The likely absence comes at a particularly fraught moment for Ukraine. In addition to concerns over peace negotiations, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, quit on Friday, hours after anti-corruption agents searched his home.