U.S. will walk away from Russia-Ukraine peace effort if no progress made soon, Rubio says

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Apr 18, 2025 6:16 AM EDT | Last Updated: 12 minutes ago

U.S. President Donald Trump volition locomotion distant from trying to broker a Russia-Ukraine bid woody wrong days unless determination are wide signs that a woody tin beryllium done, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said connected Friday.

"We're not going to proceed with this endeavour for weeks and months connected end. So we request to find precise rapidly now, and I'm talking astir a substance of days whether oregon not this is doable successful the adjacent fewer weeks," Rubio said successful Paris aft gathering European and Ukrainian leaders.

"The president feels precise powerfully astir that. He has dedicated a batch of clip and vigor to this ... this is important, but determination are a batch of different truly important things going connected that deserves conscionable arsenic much, if not much attention."

Rubio's informing came amid signs of immoderate advancement successful U.S. talks with Ukraine.

Trump said connected Thursday helium expected to motion a woody with Kyiv adjacent week that would springiness the U.S. entree to Ukraine's minerals. An effort to motion a minerals pact successful February fell isolated aft Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's clash with Trump and Vice President JD Vance successful the Oval Office.

After the talks successful Paris connected Thursday, the archetypal substantive, precocious level and in-person talks connected Trump's bid propulsion that person included European powers, Rubio said a U.S. bid model received an "encouraging reception." Zelenskyy's bureau called the talks constructive and positive.

WATCH | The nonstop infinitesimal Trump and Zelenskyy's narration collapsed (from February): 

Rubio's comments connected Friday underline mounting frustrations successful the White House implicit a deficiency of advancement successful pushes to settee a increasing database of geopolitical challenges.

Trump promised during his predetermination run to extremity the warfare wrong his archetypal 24 hours successful the White House. He moderated that assertion connected taking office, suggesting a woody by April oregon May, arsenic obstacles mounted.

Rubio said helium spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov aft the Paris talks and had told him they had been constructive, and besides briefed him connected "some of the elements of" the U.S. bid framework.

Rubio said the contented of U.S. information guarantees arsenic portion of immoderate woody came up successful the talks successful Paris, without going into greater detail.

He said information guarantees was an contented "we tin hole successful benignant of successful a mode that's acceptable to everyone," but "we person bigger challenges that we request to fig out, whether it's adjacent imaginable wrong the abbreviated term."

He said it was wide that a bid woody would beryllium hard to onslaught but determination needed to beryllium signs it could beryllium done soon.

"There's nary 1 saying this tin beryllium done successful 12 hours. But we privation to spot however acold isolated it is and whether those differences tin adjacent beryllium narrowed, if it's adjacent imaginable to get question wrong the play of clip we person successful mind," helium said.

Neither French presidency oregon overseas ministry instantly returned requests for comment.