On the eve of Canadians gearing up to vote in a federal election, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed President Donald Trump’s previous comments about making Canada the “51st state.” During an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday,

"The president has stated repeatedly he thinks Canada would be better off as a state," Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC's "Meet the Press."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. would consider in the coming week whether to continue mediating talks "or if it's time to sort of focus on some other issues."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there are reasons to be optimistic, but also asserted there are “other issues” on which the administration wants to spend its energy.

The Secretary of State's comments came after President Donald Trump questioned whether Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to "stop the war" against Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that the next week will be crucial for ending the war in Ukraine, according to Clash Report. “I think this is gonna be a very critical week. This week is gonna be a really important week in which we have to make a determination about whether this is an endeavor that we want to continue to be involved in,