Donald Trump has stated that if Moscow or Kyiv “make it very difficult” to strike a peace deal, the US will “take a pass” on brokering future Russia-Ukraine negotiations.
The US president told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday that he did not anticipate a truce to be reached in “a specific number of days,” but that he wanted it done “quickly.”
His remarks came hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that discussions will be abandoned unless significant signs of progress were seen within days.
“We’re not going to continue with this endeavour for weeks and months on end,” Rubio said, adding that the US has “other priorities to focus on”.
This comes as Russian strikes on Ukraine continue, with two people dead and over 100 injured in the north-eastern cities of Kharkiv and Sumy on Friday.
Moscow launched a full-fledged invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Russian troops have been pushing, if slowly, through eastern Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin has set a number of criteria for any prospective truce.
Trump’s direct diplomacy with Putin and harsh criticism of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky have alarmed NATO members, who insist that support for Kyiv must be maintained.
On Friday, when questioned about a deal between Russia and Ukraine, Trump responded, “We’re talking about people dying. Ideally, we’ll get it halted. “Now if, for some reason, one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re just going to say, ‘you’re fools, you’re horrible people,’ and we’re going to just take a pass.”
Despite the Trump administration’s early optimism that an agreement might be reached soon, efforts to establish a comprehensive cease-fire have yet to materialise, with Washington blaming both parties. After meeting with European leaders in Paris on Thursday to discuss a potential ceasefire, Rubio told reporters on Friday: “We need to determine very quickly now – and I’m talking about a matter of days – whether or not this is doable.”
“If it’s not going to happen, then we’re just going to move on,” he added of truce discussions.
He admitted that reaching a peace settlement would be tough. Before re-entering office, Trump promised to end the fighting within the first 24 hours of his presidency.
After Trump’s threat, Ukraine minerals deal may not buy peace
When asked to respond to Trump’s statement that he expected a response from Russia on a ceasefire, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded, “the negotiations taking place are quite difficult”.
“The Russian side is striving to reach a peace settlement in this conflict, to ensure its own interests, and is open to dialogue,” Mr. Putin stated.
During a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Friday, US Vice President JD Vance stated that he remains “optimistic” about settling the Ukraine conflict.
“I want to update the prime minister on some of the negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, and also some of the things that have happened even in the past 24 hours,” he told reporters.
“I will not judge them, but we are hoping that we will be able to bring this horrific war to an end.”
Vance’s remarks came after independent reports that Ukraine and the United States had taken the first step towards reaching an agreement on minerals after an initial accord was wrecked when a February meeting between Trump and President Zelensky devolved into a public yelling fight.
On Thursday, the two countries signed a memorandum of intent to establish an investment fund for Ukraine’s rehabilitation as part of an economic partnership pact. The Ukrainian government’s memo states that the goal is to conclude the agreement by April 26.
The specifics of any agreement remain unclear. Previous leaks have revealed that the arrangement has been expanded beyond minerals to include control over Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, as well as its oil and gas.
Ukrainian negotiators have attempted to reject Trump’s demands that a joint investment fund repay the US for prior military aid, but appear to have accepted his argument that it will help the country recover after the war.
The note further stated that the “American people desire to invest alongside the Ukrainian people in a free, sovereign and secure Ukraine”.
Zelensky had hoped to exploit the arrangement to win a US security guarantee in the case of a ceasefire agreement, telling European leaders last month that “a ceasefire without security guarantees is dangerous for Ukraine”.
So far, the United States has declined to provide Kyiv with security guarantees.
The White House claims that the very presence of US corporations deters Russia from future aggression, although this did not work when they invaded in 2022.
Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko announced the signing of the agreement on X, which included images of Svyrydenko and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signing the paper separately via an online call.
“There is a lot to do, but the current pace and significant progress give reason to expect that the document will be very beneficial for both countries,” she wrote.
Bessent stated that the details were still being worked out, but the transaction is “substantially what we’d agreed on previously.”
During a news conference with Meloni, Trump hinted at the contract, saying, “We have a minerals deal, which I guess will be signed on (next) Thursday… and I assume they’ll live up to the deal.” So we will see. But we have a contract for that.”
According to Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, an MP and chair of Ukraine’s parliamentary committee on EU Integration, the Ukrainian parliament will have “the last word” in the pact.
She went on to say “I hope that there will be enough reasoning to ensure that whatever is signed, and if it is going to be ratified that it is in the interest of our country and our people” .
On Thursday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha met with Rubio and Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff in Paris to seek ways to stop the conflict.
Sybiha stated that they’d “discussed the paths to a fair and lasting peace, including full ceasefire, multinational contingent, and security guarantees for Ukraine”.
