The United States will stop trying to mediate a Russia-Ukraine peace deal in a few days unless there are clear signs that a deal can be reached, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday, Reuters and BFMTV reported.
Marco Rubio, speaking in Paris after meeting with European and Ukrainian leaders, said President Donald Trump was still interested in a deal but had many other priorities in the world and was willing to move on if there were no signs of progress.
A day after the Paris meetings between Americans, Europeans and Ukrainians, the US Secretary of State said it was necessary to “determine in the coming days” whether peace was “feasible” in Ukraine, stressing that “the United States has other priorities”.
“We have to determine in the coming days whether (peace) is feasible or not, and if it is not possible, we have to move on”, because “the United States has other priorities”, he said at Le Bourget airport in Paris before boarding a plane.
“We are not going to continue with this effort for weeks and months. So we have to determine very quickly now, and I mean a matter of days, whether this is feasible or not in the next few weeks. If so, we are involved. If not, then we have to focus on other priorities”, said Rubio, indicating that Trump is still interested in a deal, but is ready to move on if there are no immediate signs of progress.
Marco Rubio believes that London, Paris and Berlin could help and move things forward. “I think Britain, France and Germany can help us, they can move things forward and they can bring us closer to a solution. I found their ideas very useful and constructive,” he said.
Talks in Paris with European and Ukrainian officials
The head of US diplomacy was in Paris on Thursday for the first talks on Ukraine involving Americans, Europeans and Ukrainians, at a time when the ceasefire negotiations initiated by Washington are stagnating and the Europeans want to impose their voice.
President Emmanuel Macron welcomed X “a positive and constructive discussion” on Ukraine, stating that “the same desire for peace” is shared by all participants in the talks, more than three years after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“The talks will continue next week in London,” he said. “Coordination between allies is crucial,” Macron said, at a time when Europeans have feared for weeks that they will be sidelined in the negotiations.
“What is new (…) is that today, in Paris, the United States, Ukraine and the Europeans have gathered around the same table” to discuss ways to achieve “a just and lasting peace,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said in a short speech.
Trump promised during his election campaign to end the war in his first 24 hours in the White House. He has moderated this claim since taking office, suggesting an agreement by April or May as obstacles have mounted.
Rubio’s comments underscore growing frustrations over the lack of progress in efforts to resolve a growing list of geopolitical challenges, Reuters reports