Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state, said on Friday that if there are no signs of progress in the next few days, the U.S. could be prepared to “move on” from efforts of the Russia/Ukraine deal.
Rubio, speaking in Paris, after a marathon of historic talks between U.S. officials, Ukrainians, and European officials, said that the discussions were constructive and had produced outlines for peace-building steps.
French officials have said that a second meeting with the same format will be held in London within the next few days. Rubio said that he would be able to attend the meeting. It is expected to take place early this week.
″We are not reaching a point where we need to decide whether this is even possible or not,″ Rubio told reporters upon departure.
Rubio stated that the U.S. government wants to make a decision “in the matter of days” whether this can be achieved in the coming weeks.
France hosted high-level talks on Thursday to discuss Ukraine’s security. This was the first time that American, Ukrainian, and European officials have been known to meet together since Donald Trump took office to discuss a possible end to the conflict. The meeting came at a time when Europeans are growing more concerned about Trump’s willingness to move closer to Russia.
Rubio and the presidential envoy Steve Witkoff helped to lead U.S. efforts in seeking peace. Saudi Arabia has hosted several rounds of negotiation. Rubio stated that Witkoff had met with Putin three times.
Moscow has refused to accept the comprehensive ceasefire that Trump pushed for and that Ukraine endorsed. Russia made the ceasefire conditional upon a stop to Ukraine’s mobilisation efforts and Western weapons supplies. Ukraine rejected these demands.
