Rubio’s remarks appear to reflect the president’s frustration with the difficulty of achieving peace in Ukraine after Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion.
President Donald Trump is ready to “move on” from peace talks between Ukraine and Russia if there is no progress “within days,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Friday.
Rubio’s remarks reflected how the U.S.-sponsored peace efforts have stalled and the president’s frustration with the talks has grown. Though Trump said during his campaign he could end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours, he is now almost three months into his second term. The administration’s main achievement to date — an agreement by both sides to pause attacks on energy infrastructure for 30 days — is close to its end and has not stopped deadly attacks in Ukraine
“The president has spent 87 days at the highest level of his government repeatedly taking efforts to bring this war to an end,” said Rubio. “We are now reaching a point where we need to decide and determine whether this is even possible or not, which is why we’re engaging both sides.”
If the war cannot be ended soon, “I think the president is probably at a point where he’s going to say, ‘Well, we’re done,’” Rubio said. “We’re not going to continue with this endeavor for weeks and months on end.”
The top U.S. diplomat did not specify what to “move on” would mean for continued U.S. military support for Ukraine or sanctions on Russia. If the United States were to just end its support for peace talks, it would mark a significant win for the Kremlin, which currently has the momentum on the battlefield.
Soon after Rubio’s comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded by saying progress had been made, citing the 30-day energy ceasefire, which he then said had expired.
During a visit to Rome Friday, Vice President JD Vance said “we do feel optimistic that we can hopefully bring this brutal war, this very brutal war, to a close.”
Rubio spoke as he wrapped up a 24-hour trip to Paris, where President Emmanuel Macron had hastily convened American, Ukrainian and other European officials in an attempt to re-center the negotiations in Europe.
The Paris talks, which took place on Thursday, came after growing anxiety in European capitals about the U.S.-led negotiations that began under Trump. Particularly of concern to Europe has been the United States’ warm embrace of Russia. Special envoy Steve Witkoff recently traveled to St. Petersburg to meet with President Vladimir Putin for the third time since the start of Trump’s second term.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters Thursday, as Witkoff attended meetings in Paris, that he thought the U.S. negotiator had consciously or unconsciously taken on “Russian narratives,” such as the idea that five occupied territories in eastern Ukraine could be ceded to Russia in a peace deal.
After the meetings in Paris, Macron labeled the new format a success and said that talks would continue in London next week.
An Élysée official, speaking on the condition of anonymity under guidelines from the French presidency, said Macron’s talks with Rubio and Witkoff focused on the issue of a ceasefire and security guarantees.
The meeting had underscored “the common support of Ukraine and [the Europeans] for President Trump’s objective of rapidly putting an end to the war in Ukraine,” the official said, adding that there was agreement “on the need for a full ceasefire as soon as possible.”
The Trump administration appeared “ready to use both incentives and pressure on Russia,” the official added.
Rubio told reporters Friday that he appreciated the efforts of European allies. Rubio did not say whether he would go to London, though another envoy, retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, said Friday he expects to attend. Witkoff, who is planning to travel to Rome on Saturday for negotiations with Iran on its nuclear program, would also travel to London, according to the Élysée official.
“Hopefully we’ll have another meeting early next week, at some point, where we’ll have some more definitive answers about how close we are to actually making progress,” Rubio said, “but this isn’t going to go on forever.”
Trump told reporters Thursday that he also expects to sign a deal with Ukraine to grant the United States access to its critical mineral resources. Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko later wrote on social media that Washington and Kyiv had signed a memorandum of intent that would pave the way for the deal.
Trump added that he did not blame Zelensky for the war, which began in full after Russia invaded in February 2022, but he said he was “not a big fan” of the Ukrainian leader. “I wouldn’t say he’s done the greatest job.”
“We want to get it done,” Trump said of efforts to secure a ceasefire. “We’ll see if we can.”
Zelensky agreed to a U.S.-proposed ceasefire more than a month ago. Putin, however, demurred and said it was a complicated matter.
After Putin last month rejected the U.S. proposal, top Moscow officials have attempted to shift the blame onto the Ukrainian government and European leaders, claiming that they are desperate to keep fighting and that only Russia is willing to negotiate a peace deal.
Even before peace negotiations began, Russia insisted that European leaders should be excluded from talks, claiming they had no relevant part to play. Europe had no place at the table until Thursday’s Paris meeting.
Russia has also rejected European efforts to create a reassurance force of foreign troops to deter future Russian attacks on Ukraine. Moscow last month also blocked a U.S.-facilitated deal for a ceasefire in the Black Sea unless sanctions on a bank and several financial institutions were lifted.
Peskov and Foreign Ministry officials have ramped up their rhetoric against European leaders in recent weeks, apparently attempting to deepen the divide between the Trump administration and its NATO allies and framing Europe’s pledges to continue supporting Ukraine as blocking progress to peace.
On Thursday, Peskov said the negotiations with Witkoff were proceeding “with difficulty,” insisting that the situation was so complex that there could be no chance of peace soon, as he attacked European leaders.
While Moscow and Washington “talk peace,” the European capitals “have suddenly turned into hawks, hawks of war” and are insisting on the continuation of hostilities, he said on Thursday.
But after Rubio warned on Friday that the Trump administration would move on if it could not get a deal soon, Peskov brought up the moratorium on strikes on energy infrastructure, which both sides have accused each other of breaching daily.
“We believe that progress can already be recognized,” Peskov, adding that while the moratorium had expired, Putin had yet to issue any orders about what comes next.
The Kremlin has continued to push its maximalist conditions for a ceasefire — including that Ukraine be denied any Western military aid that would allow it to rearm, and must be prevented from recruiting new soldiers. No such conditions would apply to Russia, which would give it a major military advantage if fighting resumed.
For a broader peace deal, Russia has insisted on total neutrality for Ukraine, a drastically reduced military, the removal of its current elected government as well as control of the five regions of the country it has illegally annexed (but doesn’t entirely control) — terms that would reward Putin for his invasion and would be unacceptable to Kyiv.
Dixon reported from Riga, Latvia. Ellen Francis in Brussels contributed to this report.
