Ukraine and Russia may only have days to show willingness to come to the negotiating table before the US pulls out of peace talks, according to Marco Rubio
The United States will walk away from efforts to broker a Russia-Ukraine peace deal unless there are clear signs of progress soon, President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday.
“Quickly, we want to get it done,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “Now if for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re just going to say, ‘you’re foolish, you’re fools, you’re horrible people, and we’re going to just take a pass. But hopefully we won’t have to do that.”
Trump’s comments followed remarks by Rubio, his top diplomat, who said the sides had just days to show progress or Washington would walk.
“We’re not going to continue with this endeavour for weeks and months on end. So we need to determine very quickly now, and I’m talking about a matter of days, whether or not this is doable in the next few weeks,” Rubio said in Paris after meeting European and Ukrainian leaders.
“If it’s not possible, if we’re so far apart that this is not going to happen, then I think the president is probably at a point where he’s going to say, ‘well, we’re done’.”
Trump, when asked, declined to set a specific deadline for how long he was willing to wait.
“Marco’s right in saying… we want to see it end,” Trump said. Asked if Russian President Vladimir Putin was stalling, Trump replied: “I hope not.”
Rubio’s comments, three European diplomats said, reflected growing frustration in the White House over Russian reluctance to end the war.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said some progress on a peace settlement had already been made but that contacts with Washington were difficult.
He said Russia was striving to resolve the conflict while ensuring its own interests were protected. Moscow remained open to dialogue with the United States, he added.
US officials said they were also frustrated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s comment this week that Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, was “spreading Russian narratives,” and said that was not helpful to the process.
A US official said the sides would re-engage in London next week, giving Ukraine time to agree fully to a “term sheet” presented by Washington.
Kyiv was ready for a comprehensive ceasefire over sea, land and air for at least 30 days or longer, the official said.
Where the sides stand in Ukraine peace talks
RUSSIA: Moscow has recently stalled on peace negotiations and rejected a ceasefire proposal agreed by Kyiv. But the Kremlin said on Friday that Russia was “striving to settle this conflict. The contacts are quite complicated because the topic of Ukrainian settlement is also not simple,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
UKRAINE: The country has signed the precursor to a minerals deal with the US, which would get Washington to invest in Ukraine in exchange for giving America a cut of profits from Kyiv’s extensive natural resources, such as its oil and gas.
UNITED STATES: The Trump administration has put both sides on notice by telling them that they may withdraw from the talks within days. There is reportedly frustration within the White House at Russia being reluctant to end the war.
With Reuters
