U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on Friday that the United States could soon abandon its push for a negotiated resolution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict if meaningful progress isn’t achieved in the immediate future.
Speaking in Paris after a full day of intensive meetings involving U.S., Ukrainian, and European leaders, Rubio described the talks as productive, noting that they laid the groundwork for a potential roadmap to peace.
French officials indicated that another round of discussions in the same format is being scheduled to take place in London in the coming days. Rubio said he may participate and that the meeting is anticipated early next week.
″We are not reaching a point where we need to decide whether this is even possible or not,″ Rubio told reporters as he left the French capital.
Despite ongoing attempts by the Trump administration to mediate a truce between Russia and Ukraine, fighting continues, and Rubio emphasized that a decision needs to be made “in a matter of days whether or not this is doable in the next few weeks.”
Thursday’s high-level summit in Paris marked the first instance since President Donald Trump took office that senior representatives from the U.S., Ukraine, and Europe came together to discuss resolving the war. The gathering took place amid growing concern in Europe over Trump’s perceived willingness to engage more closely with Moscow.
Rubio, along with presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, has been at the forefront of the administration’s diplomatic outreach. Multiple negotiation sessions have already taken place in Saudi Arabia, and according to Rubio, Witkoff has had three separate meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
While President Trump has advocated for a comprehensive ceasefire—an idea Ukraine supports—Moscow has declined to agree. Russia is demanding an end to Ukraine’s military mobilization and a halt to Western weapons deliveries, conditions Kyiv has outright rejected.
{Matzav.com}