U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that Washington would need to determine within days whether a ceasefire in Ukraine was realistically achievable, following meetings with European officials in Paris.
“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,” Rubio told reporters at Le Bourget airport before departing the French capital.
“If it is, we’re in. If it’s not, then… we have other priorities to focus on as well,” he added. “The United States has been helping Ukraine over the last three years, and we want it to end, but it’s not our war,” he said.
European leaders have been scrambling to assert their role in the peace process after U.S. President Donald Trump surprised both Kyiv and Western allies by agreeing to initiate peace talks following a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump’s push to end the war has since faltered, with Putin rejecting proposals for a comprehensive ceasefire and ramping up his demands from Ukraine, including the suggestion that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should be removed from power.
Still, Rubio said Thursday’s talks with European counterparts had been “very helpful and constructive,” adding that Washington hoped key allies would remain involved.
“We’d like them to remain engaged... I think the U.K. and France and Germany can help us move the ball on this and get closer to a resolution,” he said.
When asked later on Friday to comment on Rubio’s remarks, the Kremlin avoided mentioning the U.S. secretary of state’s short timeline for making progress in peace negotiations and told reporters that they should direct their questions on the matter to Washington.
“We believe some progress can already be noted. That progress is linked to the moratorium that Russia has observed — the moratorium on striking energy infrastructure,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said after telling reporters that the pause in those kinds of attacks had expired.
“Russia adhered to this moratorium, which is more than can be said for the Ukrainian side. There have been some initial developments, but many difficult discussions still lie ahead,” he added.
Rubio on Friday signaled that any future peace deal could involve a rollback of sanctions against Moscow — a point of divergence with European powers, which have recently agreed to tighten rather than ease economic pressure on Russia.
“Part of the sanctions against Russia — many of them are European sanctions that we can’t lift, if that were ever to be part of a deal,” he said.
Last month, EU leaders agreed to expand sanctions against Moscow rather than begin discussions about lifting them.
AFP contributed reporting.
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