Rubio Says The US Will Drop Ukraine-Russia Peace Efforts If No Progress Within Days

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on Friday that if there is no progress in the next few days, the U.S. might consider moving on from attempting to secure a Russia-Ukraine peace deal after months of unsuccessful efforts to halt the conflict. He made these remarks in Paris following significant discussions among U.S., Ukrainian, and European officials that produced plans for peace steps and showed some positive development. Another meeting is scheduled for the following week in London, and Rubio indicated that it could be crucial in determining the future involvement of the Trump administration.

Rubio emphasized that the U.S. has other priorities to focus on and mentioned that a decision on the matter needs to be made soon. He noted that the U.S. administration is eager to make a determination within days.

The discussions come as the U.S. and Ukraine are close to finalizing a deal that would grant the U.S. access to Ukraine’s extensive mineral resources, which has been linked to President Donald Trump’s peace efforts. Trump confirmed the progress on the minerals deal, and Ukraine’s economy minister reported that the two countries signed a memorandum of intent, with a more comprehensive agreement anticipated later.

Negotiations on the mineral deal had stalled in February following a tense meeting in the Oval Office involving Trump, U.S. Vice President JD Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Talks have since resumed.

Rubio described the talks in Paris on Thursday as productive and did not blame Russia or Ukraine for hindering peace efforts. He mentioned that he had informed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov about the emerging outlines but did not disclose Lavrov’s response.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on Rubio’s statements, mentioning that complex negotiations are ongoing between Russia and the U.S., with no direct talks scheduled between Trump and Putin in the near future.

The European negotiators’ assistance was acknowledged by Rubio, who expressed that the U.K., France, and Germany can help advance progress on the matter. European concerns about Trump’s approach toward Russia are growing, with these talks being the first high-level discussions since Trump’s inauguration involving American, Ukrainian, and European officials to address the conflict in Ukraine.

The discussions touched upon security guarantees for Ukraine’s future, but Rubio refrained from discussing any potential U.S. role in that aspect. U.S. support for Ukraine is considered vital in ensuring Russia’s compliance after a peace agreement is reached.

Rubio and presidential envoy Steve Witkoff have been leading U.S. efforts to pursue peace, with Witkoff having met with Putin three times, according to Rubio. Several negotiation rounds have taken place in Saudi Arabia.

Russia has been hesitant to agree to a comprehensive ceasefire advocated by Trump and endorsed by Ukraine, conditioning it on the suspension of Ukraine’s mobilization efforts and Western arms supplies, demands that Ukraine has rejected.

Furthermore, Russia has continued to carry out deadly strikes on Ukrainian cities, causing civilian casualties. The mayor of Kharkiv reported one fatality and 98 injuries, including six children, after Russian strikes hit the city. In Sumy, a bakery was targeted by Russian drones, resulting in a customer’s death and an employee’s injury.

The strike in Sumy was the second large-scale missile attack causing civilian casualties in just over a week, following the earlier incident in Kryvyi Rih.

The report was contributed by Arhirova from Kyiv, Ukraine, with additional contributions from Illia Novikov in Kyiv and Joanna Kozlowska in London.