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Rubio: We will withdraw from Russia-Ukraine peace deal if there is no progress

Rubio: We will withdraw from Russia-Ukraine peace deal if there is no progress

US President Donald Trump will withdraw within days from efforts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine if there are no clear signals that a deal can be reached.

This was stated by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on April 18.

"We're not going to continue this effort for weeks or months. We need to determine very quickly, and when I say very quickly, I'm talking about a matter of days, whether this [reaching an agreement] is feasible in the coming weeks. If that happens, then we're in the process. If not, then we have other priorities to focus on as well," Rubio said in Paris.

Chief diplomat Rubio said President Trump is still interested in a deal, but is willing to back out if there are no immediate signs of progress.

Rubio attended a day of talks in Paris on Thursday, which were attended by European and Ukrainian officials. The top US diplomat said the discussions were constructive and resulted in a summary of steps towards peace.

France hosted the meeting and for the first time, senior American, Ukrainian and European officials met together to discuss ending the war.

Rubio said Friday that he hopes Europeans will remain engaged in U.S.-led talks toward a ceasefire in Ukraine.

"We would like them to remain engaged... I think the United Kingdom, France and Germany can help us move this issue towards a resolution. I think they were very helpful and very constructive in their ideas," Rubio told reporters as he left Paris after meeting with European officials.

Since taking office in January, the Trump administration has held several rounds of meetings with Russia and Ukraine in an attempt to reach a ceasefire in the war that began in February 2022, and Rubio's statements highlight growing US dissatisfaction with the lack of progress towards ending the war.

Moscow has refused to accept the ceasefire proposal presented by the US, which Ukraine has accepted. Moscow has set conditions, demanding that Ukraine stop its mobilization efforts and that the West stop arms shipments to Kiev. But these demands have been rejected by Ukraine./ REL

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