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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that the U.S. may “move on” from trying to secure a Russia-Ukraine peace deal if there is no progress in the coming days, after months of efforts have failed to bring an end to the fighting.
He spoke in Paris after landmark talks among U.S., Ukrainian and European officials produced outlines for steps toward peace and appeared to make some long-awaited progress. A new meeting is expected next week in London, and Rubio suggested that could be decisive in determining whether the Trump administration continues its involvement.
“We are now reaching a point where we need to decide whether this is even possible or not,” Rubio told reporters upon departure. “Because if it’s not, then I think we’re just going to move on.”
“It’s not our war,” Rubio said. “We have other priorities to focus on.” He said the U.S. administration wants to decide “in a matter of days.”
US and Ukraine make progress on minerals deal
His comments came as the U.S. and Ukraine are nearing a long-delayed deal granting the U.S. access to Ukraine’s vast mineral resources, which has been intertwined with President Donald Trump’s peace push. Trump said Thursday, “We have a minerals deal,’' and Ukraine’s economy minister said Friday that the two countries signed a memorandum of intent ahead of a possible fuller agreement later.
The deal, which Ukrainian Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said she signed with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, is expected to pave the way for significant investments, infrastructure modernization and long-term cooperation.
The framework of the mineral deal had stalled in February following a contentious Oval Office meeting between Trump, U.S. Vice President JD Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Negotiations have since resumed.
Despite apparent growing U.S. impatience with the peace efforts, Rubio called Thursday’s Paris talks constructive. “Nobody rejected anything, nobody got up from the table or walked away.”
Rubio didn’t single out Russia or Ukraine as blocking peace efforts. He said he informed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov about the outlines that emerged when they spoke after the Paris talks, but wouldn’t say how Lavrov reacted.
When asked about Rubio’s comments on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “fairly complex” negotiations are ongoing between Russia and the U.S. He did not give details but said no direct talks between Trump and Putin are scheduled in the coming days.
“Russia is striving toward resolving this conflict, securing its own interests, and is open to dialogue. We are continuing to do this,” he said.
After weeks of tensions with European allies, Rubio told reporters in Paris that the European negotiators proved helpful. “The U.K. and France and Germany can help us move the ball on this.”
European concerns are growing about Trump’s readiness to draw closer to Russia. These talks were the first time since Trump’s inauguration that top American, Ukrainian and European officials met to discuss an end to the war, which has posed the biggest security challenge to Europe since World War II.
