Marco Rubio: ‘Have other priorities to focus on’: Marco Rubio signals US may soon abandon Ukraine-Russia peace push due to stalled talks

File photograph: US secretary of state Marco Rubio (Picture credit score: AP)

US secretary of state Marco Rubio on Friday warned that Washington might stroll away from its push to dealer a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine inside days, except progress turns into seen soon.
Speaking in Paris after high-level discussions with European and Ukrainian leaders, Rubio mentioned the Trump administration was assessing whether or not the trouble stays viable.
“We’re not going to continue with this endeavour for weeks and months on end,” Rubio mentioned. “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. If it is, we’re in. If it’s not, then we have other priorities to focus on as well”, he added.
The feedback got here following conferences hosted by France, the primary since US President Donald Trump’s inauguration the place prime American, European and Ukrainian officers convened to talk about ending the warfare.
According to information company AP, French officers count on a follow-up assembly in London early subsequent week, which Rubio mentioned he may attend.
Despite acknowledging “constructive” talks and an rising define for a peace framework, Rubio confused urgency. “We need to figure out here now within a matter of days whether this is doable in the short term, because if it’s not, then I think we’re just going to move on,” he advised reporters at Le Bourget airport.
Efforts by Rubio and Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff have included a number of rounds of negotiation in Saudi Arabia and not less than three conferences between Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
However, Russia has thus far refused a complete ceasefire proposed by Trump and supported by Ukraine, demanding Kyiv halt army mobilisation and Western arms provides, circumstances rejected by Ukraine.
Trump, who had pledged throughout his marketing campaign to finish the warfare inside 24 hours of taking workplace, later mentioned a deal might come by April or May. But talks have dragged amid escalating disagreements, together with a public spat in February between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the White House.
Trump added gas to the strain Thursday by saying, “I don’t hold Zelenskyy responsible but I’m not exactly thrilled with the fact that that war started”. He added, “I’m not blaming him, but what I am saying is that I wouldn’t say he’s done the greatest job, OK? I am not a big fan.”
Zelenskyy, earlier within the week, invited Trump to go to Ukraine to witness the warfare’s destruction firsthand, an invite that Trump dismissed with threats directed at CBS, which aired the Ukrainian president’s interview.
Meanwhile, each side have moved nearer to a controversial minerals settlement.
According to The New York Times, a memorandum of understanding was signed Thursday between Kyiv and Washington, paving the best way for a future deal on Ukraine’s strategic sources.