Rubio says Trump administrators may soon “continue” from Ukraine-Russia peace efforts: “This is not our war”

Paris – U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that the U.S. may try to secure a Russia – Ukraine If there is no progress in the next few days. The White House’s months of efforts failed to end the battle, despite President Trump’s repeated commitments before taking office that he would use his skills as a negotiator to end the war immediately.

Rubio addressed Paris after landmark talks between us, Ukrainian and European officials, put forward an outline of the steps towards peace and seemed to have made some long-awaited progress. A new meeting is expected next week in London, which Rubio suggests may be decisive in determining whether the Trump administration will continue to participate.

“We’re now at the point where we need to decide whether it’s possible,” Rubio told reporters on his departure. “Because if it’s not, then I think we’re going to keep going.”

“This is not our war,” Rubio said. “We have other priorities to focus on.” He said the U.S. government hopes to make a decision “within a few days.”

His remarks are in stark contrast to the position of the Biden administration, during which time warn Shortly after the war began, Russia’s authoritarian president Vladimir Putin was determined to “rebuild the Soviet empire. Beyond that, he wanted to redefine the influence of neighboring countries that were once part of the Soviet bloc. He wanted to make sure all of them were neutral.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also warn,include Multiple interviews with CBS NewsPutin intends to expand Russia’s borders by force and break the security bonds established between Western democracies during World War II, the U.S.-led NATO alliance is the most tangible.

Zelenskyy told CBS News’ Charlie D’Agata that we were satellites of the Russian Federation about a year ago. Currently, we are us, then our Kazakhstan, then the Baltic state, then Germany. “This aggressiveness and Putin’s army can come to Europe, and then American citizens, American soldiers will have to protect Europe because they are members of NATO.” ”

Zelenskyy called the Russian invasion a war “opposed to democracy, against values ​​around the world”, and he acknowledged that some people in the West might be tired of hearing the message, but only those who are not in the war, who don’t know what the war is and who have never lost his or her or her children”.

“If we are not firm, he will make further progress,” Zelenskyy reiterated in a 60-minute interview this month. “It’s not just an idle guess; the threat is real. Putin’s ultimate goal is to revive the Russian Empire and territory under NATO protection. With all this in mind, I believe it can be escalated into a world war.”

Trump says there is “we have mineral deals” with Ukraine

Rubio’s comment on Friday was hours after the United States and Ukraine seemed close to an extended deal to allow us to enter Ukraine’s huge mineral resourceswhich is intertwined with President Trump’s peaceful push.

“We have a mineral agreement,” Trump said on Thursday, and the Ukrainian economy minister said on Friday that the two countries signed a memorandum of intent ahead of a possible comprehensive agreement later.

Ukrainian Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said she signed the deal with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, which is expected to pave the way for major investments, infrastructure modernization and long-term cooperation.

Work on mineral trading stalled after February Controversial Oval Office Meeting Between Mr. Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Vodimir Zelensky. Negotiations were resumed thereafter.

Rubio’s dialogue with Russia and Europe

Despite apparent impatient with peace efforts, Rubio called Thursday’s Paris talk constructive. “No one refuses anything, no one stands up or walks away from the table.”

Rubio did not see Russia or Ukraine as a stopping peace efforts. He said he informed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov about the overview of what appeared when he spoke after the talks in Paris, but would not say Lavrov’s reaction.

When asked about Rubio’s comments on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “quite complicated” negotiations were taking place between Russia and the United States, but he did not provide details, but there was no direct negotiation between Mr. Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Russia is working to resolve this conflict, secure its own interests and open up dialogue. We are continuing to do so,” he said.

The Kremlin said in a reading on a conference call with Rubio that Lavrov has confirmed that Moscow is “ready to continue working with American colleagues to reliably eliminate the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis.”

Putin and his delegates have always claimed that these root causes are Zelenskyy’s actions and NATO’s Eastern expansion – misleading Mr. Mr.’s narrative. Trump himself sometimes supports him A full-scale invasion of Putin was launched around February 24, 2022.

After weeks of tension with European allies, Rubio told reporters in Paris that European negotiators proved helpful. “British, France and Germany can help us move the ball in this regard.”

At a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Friday, Vice President JD Vance also spoke about ongoing negotiations with Ukraine and Russia, saying he would not “prejudge them, but we are optimistic that we have hope of bringing this war, a very cruel war.”

European Worries are growingBut, about Mr. Trump’s preparation to approach Russia. The conversations are the first since his inauguration, where top Ukrainian, Ukrainian and European officials meet to discuss the end of the war, the biggest security challenge facing Europe since World War II.

This conference will address Ukraine’s hypothetical security assurance in the future, but Rubio will not discuss any possible roles of the United States. Some of our support for Ukraine is crucial to ensure that there is no re-attack in a peace agreement.

Rubio said Rubio and Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff helped us lead the efforts to seek peace, and Witkoff met Putin three times. Several rounds of negotiations were held in Saudi Arabia.

Moscow effectively rejected the full ceasefire promoted by Mr. Trump, which Ukraine has recognized. Russia restricted it to Ukraine’s mobilization efforts and Western arms supply, a request Ukraine refused.

Deadly Russian strike against Ukraine continues

Meanwhile, Russia has carried out a series of deadly strikes on Ukrainian cities there Missiles killed at least 34 in Sunday’s palm Celebration in the northern city of Sumi.

Earlier on Friday, Russia attacked Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, with one person killed, including eight children injured. He said cluster ammunition hit a “densely populated” community four times.

Russian drones also targeted a bakery in Sumy, killing customers and hurting an employee less than a week after the deadly Palm strike on Sunday, the district attorney’s office said. Photos released by the agency show rows of Easter cakes piled up in a destructive building, covered with thick dust as a huge hole spreads on the wall behind them and rubble piles on the floor.

The strike on Sumy last Sunday, which resulted in massive casualties, was the second large-scale missile attack that claimed civilian lives in just one week. On April 4, about 20 people, including nine children, died, and missiles hit Zelenskyy’s hometown, Kryvyi Rih.