‘Trump has other priorities’: Rubio hints US may step aside from Russia-Ukraine peace talks

US Secretary Mark Rubio

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a serious warning on Friday, saying the United States may step back from its efforts to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine if there is no visible progress in the next few days.

Following a full day of key discussions in Paris with Ukrainian and European leaders, Rubio described the talks as productive and said they had identified possible steps toward ending the conflict.

French officials indicated that a similar meeting is expected to take place in London soon, and Rubio noted he may attend the gathering early next week.

"We're not going to continue with this endeavour for weeks and months on end. So we need to determine very quickly now, and I'm talking about a matter of days whether or not this is doable in the next few weeks. If it is we're in. If it's not, then we have other priorities to focus on as well," Rubio said in Paris, after meeting European and Ukrainian leaders.

France hosted high-level talks Thursday to discuss Ukraine and its security, the first time since President Donald Trump’s inauguration that top American, Ukrainian and European officials are known to have met together to discuss an end to the war. The meetings came as European concerns grow about Trump’s readiness to draw closer to Russia.

Rubio and presidential envoy Steve Witkoff have helped lead U.S. efforts to seek peace. Several rounds of negotiations have been held in Saudi Arabia. Witkoff has met three times with Putin, Rubio said.

Moscow has effectively refused to accept a comprehensive ceasefire that Trump has pushed, and Ukraine has endorsed. Russia has made it conditional on a halt in Ukraine’s mobilization efforts and Western arms supplies, which are demands rejected by Ukraine.

The United States and Ukraine have signed an initial memorandum of intent, marking the first step toward a broader minerals deal. The agreement would give the US priority access to Ukraine’s rich reserves of natural resources and critical minerals.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking from Kyiv, called the memorandum a sign of constructive cooperation and confirmed that the proposal came from the US. He added that a full agreement would need approval from Ukraine’s parliament.

(With agency inputs)