US threatens to exit Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks without progress

The United States has signalled that it will pull out of ceasefire negotiations between Russia and Ukraine if concrete progress is not accomplished in the coming days.

Speaking in Paris on Friday, Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State warned that the Biden administration’s support for the peace talks has reached a critical point. “We’ve spent three years, billions of dollars supporting the Ukrainian side, but now we’ve reached a point where we have other things we have to focus on,” Rubio said.

He added that while the US remains committed to helping end the conflict, its involvement would not be open-ended. “We’re prepared to be engaged in this as long as it takes, but not indefinitely, not without progress.”

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Rubio stressed the urgency of the situation, stating that the US must determine within days whether a deal is realistically achievable. “If it is, we’re in. If it’s not, then we have other priorities to focus on as well.”

His remarks came as President Donald Trump claimed a peace deal was “close” and said Washington is awaiting a formal response from Moscow.

Amid the diplomatic uncertainty, the US and Ukraine on Friday signed a memorandum of intent on a new minerals and rare earths partnership. According to Ukraine’s Minister for the Economy, the agreement could unlock further US military aid. The deal, expected to be finalised next week, would grant the US rights to profits from rare mineral extraction in Ukraine in exchange for continued defence support.

The Trump administration described the deal as a form of repayment for the financial and military backing it has already provided Kyiv.

Tensions flared this week when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy, of echoing Russian propaganda after Witkoff’s four-hour meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

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“US envoy Steve Witkoff was spreading Russian narratives,” Zelensky said.

Witkoff, along with Secretary Rubio and diplomats from Britain, Germany, France, and Ukraine, also attended a Paris peace summit on Thursday.

At a joint press conference with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the White House, Trump downplayed his relationship with Zelensky. “I’m not a big fan,” he said. “I don’t hold Zelensky responsible [for the war], but I wouldn’t say he’s done the greatest job.”