Paris: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that the US may be ready to “move on” from efforts for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal if there is no progress in the coming days.
Speaking in Paris after a marathon day of landmark talks among US, Ukrainian and European officials, Rubio said the discussions had been constructive and produced an outline for steps toward peace.
French officials said a new meeting in the same format is expected in London in the coming days. Rubio said he could join that meeting, and it’s expected early in the week.
“We are not reaching a point where we need to decide whether this is even possible or not,” Rubio told reporters upon departure.
After weeks of efforts by the Trump administration to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine have failed to bring an end to the fighting, Rubio said the US administration wants to decide “in a matter of days whether or not this is doable in the next few weeks”.
France hosted high-level talks Thursday to discuss Ukraine and its security, the first time since President Donald Trump’s inauguration that top American, Ukrainian and European officials are known to have met together to discuss an end to the war. The meetings came as European concerns grow about Trump’s readiness to draw closer to Russia.
Rubio and presidential envoy Steve Witkoff have helped lead US efforts to seek peace. Several rounds of negotiations have been held in Saudi Arabia. Witkoff has met three times with Putin, Rubio said.
Moscow has effectively refused to accept a comprehensive ceasefire that Trump has pushed and Ukraine has endorsed. Russia has made it conditional on a halt in Ukraine’s mobilisation efforts and Western arms supplies, which are demands rejected by Ukraine.
