US Will Drop Ukraine-Russia Peace Efforts If No Progress Within Days: Marco Rubio

International

pti-PTI

Updated: Friday, April 18, 2025, 17:05 [IST]

US
Secretary
of
State
Marco
Rubio
said
Friday
that
the
US
may
be
ready
to
“move
on”
from
efforts
for
a
Russia-Ukraine
peace
deal
if
there
is
not
progress
in
the
coming
days.

Speaking
in
Paris
after
a
marathon
day
of
landmark
talks
among
US,
Ukrainian
and
European
officials,
Rubio
said
the
discussions
had
been
constructive
and
produced
an
outline
for
steps
toward
peace.

Photo
Credit:
https://www.facebook.com/SenatorMarcoRubio

French
officials
said
a
new
meeting
in
the
same
format
is
expected
in
London
in
the
coming
days.
Rubio
said
he
could
join
that
meeting,
and
it’s
expected
early
in
the
week.

“We
are
now
reaching
a
point
where
we
need
to
decide
whether
this
is
even
possible
or
not,”
Rubio
told
reporters
upon
departure.

After
weeks
of
efforts
by
the
Trump
administration
to
broker
a
ceasefire
between
Russia
and
Ukraine
have
failed
to
bring
an
end
to
the
fighting,
Rubio
said
the
US
administration
wants
to
decide
“in
a
matter
of
days
whether
or
not
this
is
doable
in
the
next
few
weeks.”

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
US
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.

Meanwhile,
Russia
kept
up
a
series
of
deadly
strikes
on
Ukrainian
cities,
according
to
officials
there,
wounding
scores
of
civilians
days
after
missiles
killed
at
least
34
during
Palm
Sunday
celebrations
in
the
northern
city
of
Sumy.

One
person
died
and
over
60
others
were
hurt
as
Russia
hit
Kharkiv,
Ukraine’s
second-largest
city,
early
in
the
day,
Ukraine’s
Emergency
Service
reported.

Mayor
Ihor
Terekhov
said
cluster
munitions
struck
a
“densely
populated”
neighbourhood
four
times.

Russian
drones
also
targeted
a
bakery
in
Sumy,
less
than
a
week
after
the
deadly
Palm
Sunday
strike
there,
killing
a
customer
and
wounding
an
employee,
the
regional
prosecutor’s
office
said.
P

hotos
released
by
the
agency
showed
rows
of
Easter
cakes
stacked
inside
a
devastated
building,
covered
in
thick
dust,
as
a
huge
hole
gaped
in
the
wall
behind
them
and
rubble
piled
up
on
the
floor.

Last
Sunday’s
strike
on
Sumy,
resulting
in
mass
casualties,
was
the
second
large-scale
missile
attack
to
claim
civilian
lives
in
just
over
a
week.

Some
20
people,
including
nine
children,
died
on
April
4
as
missiles
struck
Zelenskyy’s
hometown
of
Kryvyi
Rih.

On
Thursday,
a
Russian
drone
strike
killed
three
civilians
and
wounded
dozens
more
in
Dnipro,
a
city
in
southeastern
Ukraine,
local
authorities
said.

The
attack
came
as
a
Ukrainian
delegation
sought
security
pledges
from
European
powers
during
a
high-level
meeting
in
Paris
that
was
joined
by
Rubio
and
Witkoff.
Regional
Gov.
Serhii
Lysak
said
one
child
died
and
five
others
were
wounded
in
the
Dnipro
strike.