The United States will walk away from efforts to broker a Russia-Ukraine peace deal unless there are clear signs of progress soon, US president Donald Trump and secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Friday.
“Quickly, we want to get it done,” Mr 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.”
Mr Trump’s comments followed remarks by Mr 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,” Mr 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’.”
Mr Trump, when asked, declined to set a specific deadline for how long he was willing to wait.
Asked if Russian president Vladimir Putin was stalling the talks, Mr Trump replied: “I hope not.”
Over the past few weeks, Trump officials have acknowledged privately that the chances of a quick peace deal in Ukraine have grown elusive. Mr Rubio’s comments, three European diplomats said, reflected growing frustration in the White House over Russian intransigence 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. Moscow remained open to dialogue with the US, he added.
The talks in Paris on Thursday were the first substantive, high-level and in-person talks on Mr Trump’s peace push that have included European powers. Mr Rubio said a US peace framework he presented received an “encouraging reception”. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office called the talks constructive and positive.
US vice-president JD Vance, speaking in Rome as he met Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, said he was optimistic the US could help end this “very brutal war”.
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.
Mr Trump has pressured both sides to come to the negotiating table, threatening tougher sanctions on Russia or an end to billions of dollars in US military support for Kyiv.
Both Ukraine and Russia showed up for US-brokered talks in Saudi Arabia, which resulted in a partial ceasefire, but nothing more. Meanwhile, the war has continued, including a recent Russian missile attack that hit Sumy in northeastern Ukraine, killing 35 people – an attack Mr Trump called a “mistake”.
A source familiar with internal deliberations said Mr Trump had made clear to his team he was questioning whether it was worthwhile sticking with the talks to break the impasse.
Mr Trump said on Thursday he expected to sign a minerals deal with Kyiv next week after an attempt in February fell apart following Mr Zelenskiy’s Oval Office clash with Mr Vance and the Republican president. – Reuters
