The United States’ top diplomat signaled impatience with European officials as two days of talks to find a resolution to the Ukraine conflict wrapped up.
The April 18 comments by Secretary of State Marco Rubio came as Russia continued to pound Ukrainian targets, including the country’s second largest city, Kharkiv, where a missile strike wounded dozens of people.
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Russia Launches Deadly Missile Strike On Ukraine's Kharkiv
Ukrainian officials, meanwhile, released the text of an agreement that would pave the way for US companies to invest in Ukraine’s valuable mineral resources.
Ukrainian and US negotiators have struggled to agree on a deal, and a White House meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February imploded in acrimonious accusations.
SEE ALSO: The Hurdles In Ukraine's Cease-Fire EffortRubio met in Paris with top European officials amid efforts to find a resolution to Russia’s war on Ukraine, which is now in its fourth year.
He was joined by White House special envoy Steve Witkoff who met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin last week for what he described as five hours of talks. Witkoff has met three times with Putin, Rubio said.
After a phone call in February, Trump and Putin announced intentions to start direct peace talks, something Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, had avoided since the start of the Russian invasion.
The US push for direct talks with Moscow has worried European officials, who fear Ukraine could end up at a disadvantage in any final agreement between Washington and Moscow.
Speaking to reporters as he departed Paris, Rubio said the United States will walk away from trying to broker a peace deal within days unless there are clear signs that a deal can be done.
"We're not going to continue with this endeavor for weeks and months on end,” he said. "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.”
"If it is, we're in,” he said. “If it's not, then... we have other priorities to focus on as well."
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (right), met UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy (second from right) and top German and French officials for two days of talks in Paris on April 17.
"The United States has been helping Ukraine over the last three years, and we want it to end, but it's not our war," Rubio said.
European officials had been "very helpful and constructive with their ideas,” Rubio also said.
"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.
Rubio's comments highlight growing frustrations in the White House over the lack of progress on the Ukraine conflict. During his election campaign, Trump pledged to end the war within his first 24 hours in the White House.
Asked to confirm what Rubio had said, Trump told reporters at the White House that Rubio was right: the United States will "take a pass" on brokering further Ukraine war talks unless there is quick progress from Moscow and Kyiv.
When asked how quick progress must be, Trump said there was "no specific number of days" and added: "Now if for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we're just going to say: 'You're foolish. You're fools. You're horrible people' -- and we're going to just take a pass," Trump said. "But hopefully we won't have to do that."
SEE ALSO: Ukraine Needs U.S. Weapons. Trump Wants Its Rare Earth Minerals In Return.Rubio also said he spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after the Paris talks and had told him they had been constructive.
That upbeat tone was reflected in the State Department readout of the April 17 phone call between the two diplomats.
In its readout, however, the Russian Foreign Ministry again mentioned the phrase “root causes of the Ukraine crisis.”
That’s a term that Putin himself has used repeatedly, referring to wider geopolitical issues not directly connected to the invasion: for example, NATO’s expansion in Europe, or Ukraine’s overall sovereignty.
Russia has conditioned its agreement to a cease-fire on Ukraine halting its mobilization efforts and an end to Western arms supplies, both of which have been rejected by Ukraine.
Speaking during a visit to Rome, US Vice President JD Vance sounded a more upbeat note about the state of talks.
"Since there are the negotiations I won't prejudge them, but we do feel optimistic that we can hopefully bring this war, this very brutal war, to a close," he said as he met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Separately, Ukrainian officials on April 18 released the text of a agreement on access to Ukraine’s valuable mineral resources, including rare earths.
Kyiv and Washington have been trying to agree on a deal that Trump says would allow Ukraine to compensate for billions of dollars in US weaponry supplied over the course of the war.
SEE ALSO: Inside The Ukraine-US Minerals Deal (It's Not What You Might Think)An attempt to sign a pact in February collapsed in acrimony, after Zelenskyy clashed with Trump and Vance in the Oval Office.
The text of the memorandum lays out an economic partnership deal with the United States and setting up an investment fund for Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction. Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said officials would travel to Washington next week to formally sign the deal.
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'Good And Kind People': Funerals Held For Victims Of Attack In Sumy
In addition to Kharkiv, Russian strikes also targeted a bakery in the northern town of Sumy, less than a week after a deadly Palm Sunday strike. Prosecutors said the April 18 strike left one person dead and another wounded.