Rubio: U.S. May Quit Ukraine Talks If No Progress
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Friday that President Donald Trump may drop efforts to broker a Russia-Ukraine peace deal within days if there are no signs of progress, The Gaze reports, citing Reuters.
“We’re not going to continue with this endeavour for weeks and months on end,” Rubio said following talks in Paris with European and Ukrainian leaders. “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.”
The high-level discussions — the first to involve Ukraine, the U.S., and European officials in person — received an “encouraging reception,” according to Rubio. Ukraine called the talks “constructive and positive.”
Still, Rubio stressed the urgency: “The president feels very strongly about that… this is important, but there are a lot of other really important things going on.”
He confirmed speaking with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about the Paris talks and the U.S. peace framework. A potential deal between Washington and Kyiv over mineral rights may be signed next week.
Rubio noted U.S. security guarantees were discussed but warned that without movement soon, “it’s unclear if differences can even be narrowed.”
As The Gaze previously reported, delegations from Ukraine, the United States, and several European countries convened in Paris for multilateral talks aimed at ending the war against Ukraine widely hailed as positive.
Additionally, on April 17, Ukraine and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding signaling their commitment to finalize a future Economic Partnership Agreement (“Minerals deal”),