According to US President Donald Trump, if Moscow or Kyiv “make it very difficult” to reach a peace agreement, the US will “take a pass” on mediating additional Russia-Ukraine talks.
On Friday, the US president told reporters in the Oval Office that he wanted a truce to be implemented “quickly” but that he did not anticipate it to happen in “a specific number of days”.
His remarks were made only hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio threatened to end the negotiations unless there were unmistakable movement within a few days.
Rubio stated that the United States had “other priorities to focus on” and that “we’re not going to continue with this endeavor for weeks and months on end.”
Following two reported deaths and over 100 injuries in the northeastern cities of Kharkiv and Sumy on Friday, Russian strikes on Ukraine are still ongoing.
Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Russian troops have been advancing – albeit slowly – in eastern Ukraine.
President Vladimir Putin has placed a number of conditions on any potential ceasefire.
When asked about a deal between Russian and Ukraine, Trump said: “We’re talking about here people dying. We’re going to get it stopped, ideally.
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“Now if, for some reason, one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re just going to say, ‘You’re foolish, you’re fools, you’re horrible people,’ and we’re going to just take a pass.”
Washington is blaming both parties for the failure of attempts to establish a complete ceasefire, despite the Trump administration’s early optimism that it could quickly clinch a deal.
Rubio told reporters on Friday after meeting with European leaders in Paris on Thursday to discuss a possible ceasefire: “We need to determine very quickly now – and I’m talking about a matter of days – whether or not this is doable.”
He stated, “If it’s not going to happen, then we’re just going to move on,” in reference to the peace negotiations.
He acknowledged that reaching a peace agreement would be challenging.
Trump had promised to put an end to the fighting within the first 24 hours of taking office again.
According to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, “the negotiations taking place are quite difficult” in response to Trump’s statement that he expected a response from Russia regarding a ceasefire.
“The Russian side is striving to reach a peace settlement in this conflict, to ensure its own interests, and is open to dialogue,” he stated.
US Vice-President JD Vance stated Friday that he remained “optimistic” about bringing the crisis in Ukraine to a conclusion when meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome.
“I want to update the prime minister on some of the negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, and also some of the things that have happened even in the past 24 hours,” he stated.
“I won’t prejudge them, but we do feel optimistic that we can hopefully bring this war – this very brutal war – to a close.” Vance’s remarks came after separate reports that Ukraine and the US signed a memorandum of intent on Thursday to establish an investment fund for Ukraine’s reconstruction as part of an economic partnership agreement, with the goal of finalizing the deal by April 26. The initial agreement was derailed when a February meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky descended into a public yelling match.
The specifics of any agreement are still unknown. The pact may have been expanded beyond minerals to include control of Ukraine’s oil and gas reserves and energy infrastructure, according to earlier reports.
While attempting to oppose Trump’s demands that a joint investment fund reimburse the US for prior military assistance, Ukrainian negotiators appear to have agreed with his assertion that the fund would aid in the nation’s post-war recovery.
The letter stated that the “American people desire to invest alongside the Ukrainian people in a free, sovereign and secure Ukraine” .
Although the US has so far refused to give Kyiv security guarantees, Zelensky had hoped to use the agreement to obtain a US security guarantee in the event of a ceasefire agreement, telling European leaders last month that “a ceasefire without security guarantees is dangerous for Ukraine.” The White House claims that the mere presence of US companies would deter Russia from further aggression, but that did not exactly work when they invaded in 2022.
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