U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday, April 17 that if the resolution on the Ukraine war is no longer feasible, the United States may have to abandon its efforts and shift its focus elsewhere.
“If it is impossible to end the war in Ukraine, we need to move on,” Rubio said while talking to reporters before leaving Paris. “We need to determine very quickly now, I’m talking about the question of how many days it is, whether that’s possible.”
His remarks came after meetings with European and Ukrainian allies, as the United States prompted the end of Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine under President Donald Trump’s administration.
According to the State Council’s readings, during the discussion, the summary outline of a peace plan was “encouragingly received”, although no details were disclosed. Rubio also shared the outline with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Further, Rubio emphasized the urgency of assessing the ability to survive peacefully:
“We come to Paris to start discussing a specific overview that might need to be taken to end the war. If we are too far apart and this won’t happen, then I believe the President is ready to say we’re done.”
He added: “This is not our war. We have not started. The United States has been helping Ukraine for the past three years and we want it to end – but this is not our war.”
Rubio also highlighted President Trump’s personal participation in peace efforts, noting:
“President Trump spent 87 days at this administration’s highest level, repeatedly trying to get this war to end. We are now determining whether this is possible to reach a key point, which is why we are attracting both sides.”
Meanwhile, Russia launched a missile strike on Kharkif overnight, attacking a residential area. One person was confirmed dead and at least 67 were injured. Authorities are concerned that more may still be trapped under the ruins of damaged apartment buildings.
Rubio’s remarks come the day after the United States and Ukraine took a step towards a long-standing mineral agreement.
Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko announced that Kiev and Washington signed a memorandum of intent to pave the way for the economic partnership agreement and establish an investment fund for Ukraine’s reconstruction.
“We are happy to announce the signing of this memorandum with our U.S. partners,” Svyrydenko shared on X.
“This document is the result of the professional work of our negotiating team, which recently held another round of discussions in Washington.”
She added that the next steps involved completing the text of the agreement, formal signature, and seeking approval from both parliaments. “There is still a lot to be done, but the current speed and significant advancements give us reason to believe that this deal will greatly benefit both countries,” she noted.
The original version of the deal stagnated earlier this year after public disagreements between President Zelensky and President Trump.
Negotiations that have been conducted since then have resumed
