US may withdraw from peace talks on Ukraine: Rubio names deadline
Photo: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (Getty Images)
The United States will stop trying to mediate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine within a few days if there are no clear signs that an agreement can be reached, Reuters reports.
Speaking in Paris after a meeting with European and Ukrainian delegations, Rubio said that US President Donald Trump is still interested in the deal, but he has many other priorities in the world.
“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...this is important, but there are a lot of other really important things going on that deserves just as much, if not more attention,” he said.
Rubio said Trump is ready to move on if there are no immediate signs of progress.
Trump said the day before that he believes a ceasefire is “close” and that Moscow intends to contact him soon about a recent proposal.
Meeting in Paris
On April 17, officials from the United States, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France met in Paris. The key topic was the end of Russia's war against Ukraine.
According to Andriy Yermak, the head of the Office of Ukraine, a new negotiation format has been established that is expected to be highly effective.
Ukraine, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany will continue negotiations in London.
French President Emmanuel Macron held separate talks with Marco Rubio and Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, where they discussed Ukraine.
Rubio also spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
