Rubio says US will drop Ukraine-Russia peace efforts if no progress within days

PARIS: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that the US 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 US, 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 US administration wants to decide “in a matter of days”.

US and Ukraine make progress on minerals deal

His comments came as the US and Ukraine are nearing a long-delayed deal granting the US 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 US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, is expected to pave the way for significant investments, infrastructure modernisation and long-term cooperation.

The framework of the mineral deal had stalled in February following a contentious Oval Office meeting between Trump, US Vice President JD Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Negotiations have since resumed.

Despite apparent growing US 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 US. 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 UK 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.

The meetings addressed security guarantees for Ukraine in the future, but Rubio wouldn't discuss any possible US role in that. Some kind of US support for Ukraine is seen as crucial to ensuring that Russia would not attack again after a peace deal is reached.

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

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 mobilisation efforts and Western arms supplies, which are demands rejected by Ukraine.

Russia attacks 2 Ukrainian cities, wounding scores

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 98 others, including six children, were hurt as Russia hit Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, early in the day, its mayor Ihor Terekhov reported on Friday. He 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.

Photos 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.