Trump ready to ‘move on’ from Ukraine peace talks if no progress, Rubio says

PARIS — 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 that 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 strikes 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 this 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’s 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. A State Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss private negotiations, said Rubio had made clear during discussions in Paris that walking away from negotiations “does not mean walking away from existing sanctions on Russia.”

But if efforts to stop the fighting are abandoned, it could mark a 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.

Rubio spoke as he wrapped up a 24-hour trip to Paris, where French President Emmanuel Macron had convened American, Ukrainian and other European officials in an effort to re-center the negotiations in Europe.

The Paris talks took place Thursday after growing anxiety in European capitals about the U.S.-led negotiations that began under Trump. European leaders are wary of U.S. moves toward warmer ties with Russia, warning against concessions emboldening the Kremlin if nothing is secured in return. 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 Zelenskyy 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 claims to five occupied territories in eastern Ukraine that could be formalized in a peace deal.

After the meetings in Paris, Macron labeled the new format a success and said talks would continue in London next week.

An Élysée Palace 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 underscored Ukrainian and European support “for President Trump’s objective of rapidly putting an end to the war,” the official said, adding that there was agreement “on the need for a full ceasefire as soon as possible.”

U.S. officials outlined their view for a deal during the talks, including a full ceasefire and a frozen front line that would leave Ukrainian territory seized by Russia in Moscow’s hands, according to two people familiar with the discussions. The U.S. vision involves keeping Kyiv’s ambitions for NATO membership off the negotiating table and holding out the prospect of easing sanctions on Russia if there is a lasting settlement, they said.

The Élysée official said that while the issue of sanctions was discussed, “everyone understands the need for us to use all the instruments at our disposal, particularly sanctions … to influence the Russian position.”

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. He did not say whether he would go to London, though another envoy, retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, said Friday that he expected to attend. Witkoff, who is planning to travel to Rome on Saturday for negotiations with Iran on its nuclear program, would also be at the talks in 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.”

During a visit to Rome on 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.”

Asked in the Oval Office on Friday afternoon about Rubio’s comments, Trump said that there was “no specific number of days” he wanted for a deal to be reached but that he wanted it done “quickly.” The United States had a “good chance” to end the violence in Ukraine, Trump said, “but if for some reason, one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re just going to say, ‘You’re foolish, you’re foolish, you’re horrible people,’ and we’re going to just take a pass.”

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 Zelenskyy for the war, which began in full after Russia invaded in February 2022, but that 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.”

Zelenskyy agreed to a U.S.-proposed ceasefire more than a month ago. Putin, however, demurred and said it was a complicated matter.

Since Putin rejected the U.S. proposal last month, top Moscow officials have attempted to shift the blame to the Ukrainian government and European leaders, claiming that they are desperate to keep fighting.

Before peace negotiations began, Russia insisted that European leaders should be excluded from talks, claiming they had no relevant part to play. European leaders have countered that Putin is slow-rolling negotiations as they seek a more direct role in talks that they hope could reshape the continent’s security.

Moscow has rejected French-British plans for a force that could help a postwar Ukraine deter future Russian attacks. The Kremlin 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 — a precondition that European leaders have opposed.

Peskov and Russian Foreign Ministry officials have ramped up their rhetoric against European leaders in recent weeks, framing Europe’s pledges to continue supporting Ukraine as blocking progress on 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 as “hawks of war.”

But after Rubio warned 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 each side has accused the other of breaching.

“We believe that progress can already be recognized,” said Peskov, adding that while the moratorium had expired, Putin had yet to issue orders about what comes next.

The Kremlin has continued to push maximalist conditions for a ceasefire and a broader deal, including the halt of Western military aid to Ukraine and a drastic reduction of its army — terms that would be unacceptable to Kyiv. No such conditions would apply to Russia, which would give it a major military advantage if fighting resumed.

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• Dixon reported from Riga, Latvia, and Francis from Brussels.