US to withdraw from Ukraine peace talks without Swift progress: Rubio

English , Snippets , / Friday, April 18th, 2025

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PARIS, April 18, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned that Washington will abandon its efforts to broker a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire within days unless meaningful progress is achieved. Speaking after a high-level meeting in Paris, Rubio said, “We’re not going to continue this endeavour for weeks and months on end. If it’s not going to happen, we’ll move on.”

Rubio emphasized that while a peace deal remains challenging, there must be immediate signs of feasibility. The U.S. has blamed both Moscow and Kyiv for the stalled negotiations despite initial optimism under President Donald Trump’s administration.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that talks remain difficult, but said Russia is open to dialogue and seeks to protect its national interests. Meanwhile, missile strikes from Russia continued on Ukrainian territory Friday, killing two people, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance expressed cautious optimism after meeting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome. “We feel hopeful that we can bring this very brutal war to a close,” he said.

Parallel to diplomatic efforts, Ukraine and the U.S. signed a memorandum of intent to create an investment fund for Ukraine’s reconstruction. The proposed deal—expected to be finalized by April 26—includes collaboration on minerals, energy, and infrastructure, though some aspects remain controversial. Kyiv is reportedly resisting Trump’s demand that the fund help repay prior U.S. military aid.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also met Rubio and Trump’s envoy in Paris to discuss security guarantees and a multinational peacekeeping proposal.

The talks come as a 30-day Russian moratorium on attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure lapses, with no new directives from President Vladimir Putin announced yet.