THE UNITED STATES could move on from attempting to broker a truce in Ukraine if it is not feasible in the short term.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio made his country’s waning patience clear as he left Paris following meetings with European officials.

“We need to figure out here now, within a matter of days, whether this is doable in the short term, because if it’s not, then I think we’re just going to move on,” he told reporters.

“If it is, we’re in. If it’s not, then… we have other priorities to focus on as well.”

The United States has been helping Ukraine over the last three years, and we want it to end, but it’s not our war.

European powers have been seeking a seat at the table since US President Donald Trump blindsided Kyiv and European allies by agreeing to launch peace talks after a phone call with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.

But Trump’s push to end the war has stumbled, with Putin rebuffing a complete truce.

Rubio however said European officials had been “very helpful and constructive with their ideas” during talks yesterday.

“We’d like them to remain engaged… I think the UK and France and Germany can help us move the ball on this and then get this closer to a resolution,” he said.

The top US diplomat said he also hoped that European nations would consider lifting sanctions against Russia imposed after it invaded Ukraine in 2022.

“Part of the sanctions against Russia, many of them are European sanctions that we can’t lift, if that were ever to be part of a deal,” he said.

European countries last month had agreed to ramp up rather than lift sanctions on Russia.

Last night, Kyiv said Ukraine and the United States had signed a “memorandum of intent” to move forward with a fraught deal for US access to Kyiv’s natural resources and critical minerals.

© – AFP 2025