The US could put an end to its efforts to end the war in Ukraine in the coming days if there are no significant signs of progress, said Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Before boarding a flight from Paris, where he met top European and Ukrainian officials, Secretary Rubio told reporters, “If it is not possible to end the war in Ukraine, we need to move on.” He added, “We need to determine very quickly now, and I’m talking about a matter of days, whether or not this is doable.”
Since taking office in January, the Trump administration has heavily focused on putting an end to the war in Ukraine. During the campaign, President Trump promised he would “end the war in 24 hours.” So far, however, the administration has experienced growing frustrations over the lack of progress towards ending the war.
Major news outlet CNN asked a government official to clarify what Rubio meant by ‘moving on,’ and he explained the Secretary of Defense was talking about the US moving on from ongoing negotiations. It was also clarified that more details will emerge on where things will go in the coming days.
Rubio and the State Department have already presented both Russia and Ukraine with a broad framework of their differences, with the hopes that they could be narrowed down shortly and effectively. So far, there is no indication that this will be the case, as the framework is yet to be discussed internally by Zelensky and his team.
US will abandon efforts to end the war in Ukraine if it proves impossible to broker meaningful progress in the next several days, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
He also said that US advises EU to drop sanctions on Russia to reach a “deal.”
..So all you did was align with… pic.twitter.com/jFmj7c6Ixp
— Olga Nesterova (@onestpress) April 18, 2025
If this effort were to be shut down by the Ukrainians, a significant policy shift is expected. Despite President Trump saying that secondary sanctions could be imposed on Russia, he has also said the US will not continue to fund Ukraine indefinitely.
Earlier this year, Moscow rejected a ceasefire proposal that had been previously agreed upon by Kyiv. This was seen by the Trump administration as a step in the right direction towards peace, but now the perspective has changed, as the US President recently said, “Russia has to get moving.”
Despite rising tensions, Rubio’s visit to Europe has been dubbed by the State Department as an “excellent exchange.” Indeed, the State Department announced that it had made significant progress in the crucial minerals deal with Kyiv.
BREAKING: The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US may abandon peace efforts between Russia and Ukraine. https://t.co/TC2ROCL7wW
Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/noGV63OtPu
— Sky News (@SkyNews) April 18, 2025
Vice President JD Vance feels growing confidence about striking a peace deal. Hours after Marco Rubio’s comments, Vance said, “I think we have some interesting things to report on, of course, in private, some negotiations. I won’t prejudge them, but we do feel optimistic that we can hopefully bring this war, this very brutal war, to a close.”