Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, warned that the United States would give up on mediation unless Russia and Ukraine put forward “concrete proposals”.
United States President Donald Trump had vowed to end the war in his first 24 hours back in the White House but, as Trump celebrates 100 days in office, Rubio has suggested the administration could soon turn attention to other issues.
“We are now at a time where concrete proposals need to be delivered by the two parties on how to end this conflict,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters, in what she said was a message from Rubio.
“If there is not progress, we will step back as mediators in this process,” she added.
She said it would ultimately be up to Trump to decide whether to move ahead on diplomacy.
The president suggested on Tuesday that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin still wants to negotiate a peace agreement with Ukraine.
Asked if Putin wants peace, Trump said: “I think he does.”
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Putin recently proposed a three-day ceasefire around Russia’s commemorations next week for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
But he has rebuffed a Ukrainian-backed United States call for a 30-day ceasefire.
The United States wants “not a three-day moment so you can celebrate something else – a complete, durable ceasefire and an end to the conflict,” AFP quoted Bruce as saying.
It remains unclear if Rubio is actually ready to turn the page or is seeking to pressure the two countries.
The United States already put together a framework proposal which Ukrainians feel bows to Russian demands.
Trump has suggested an official recognition of Russia’s takeover in 2014 of Crimea, an annexation rejected by nearly all the world, in addition to land swaps.
“We all want this war to end in a fair way – with no rewards for Putin, especially no land,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told an event in Poland by videoconference on Tuesday.
Russia has also not moved on the proposal with many experts believing Moscow now sees an upper hand – on the battlefield and diplomatically, with Trump eager to reconcile.
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