US could withdraw Ukraine peace efforts within days, warns Marco Rubio

Speaking in Paris after high-level talks with European, Ukrainian, and Russian officials, Rubio emphasised the urgency of determining whether the war can be ended or not.

"We need to determine very quickly now, and I'm talking about a matter of days, whether or not this is doable," he told reporters before departing Paris.

The comments came a day after he and special envoy Steve Witkoff met with the European and Ukrainian allies as US President Donald Trump's administration pushes for an end to Russia's war in Ukraine, CNN reported.

"If it's not possible, if we're so far apart that this is not going to happen, then I think the president is probably at a point where he's going to say we're done. It's not our war. We didn't start it. The United States has been helping Ukraine for the past three years and we want it to end, but it's not our war. President Trump has spent 87 days at the highest level of this government, repeatedly making efforts to bring this war to an end. 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," Rubio told reporters.

Marco Rubio met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday, where he outlined a proposed peace framework, which received an "encouraging" response in Paris.

The US Department of State in a readout said, "Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke today with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The Secretary conveyed to his Russian counterpart the same message the US team communicated to the Ukrainian delegation and our European allies in Paris: President Trump and the United States want this war to end, and have now presented to all parties the outlines of a durable and lasting peace. The encouraging reception in Paris to the US framework shows that peace is possible if all parties commit to reaching an agreement."

Earlier, Rubio had said that President Trump has been clear about ending the war between Russia and Ukraine "now."

https://x.com/SecRubio/status/1912997123575996693

In a post on X, Rubio wrote, "@POTUS has been clear: The time to end the war between Russia and Ukraine is now. Today in Paris, @SE_MiddleEast, @SPE_Kellogg and I met with leaders from France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Ukraine to talk about how we can stop the killing and reach a just and sustainable peace." (ANI)