Rubio Says Progress Needed In Ukraine War Negotiations Or US Will Step Back

By RFE/RL April 30, 2025

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned on April 29 that unless Russia and Ukraine put forward "concrete proposals" for ending the war in Ukraine, the United States will "step back as mediators."

State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce cited Rubio as saying that the time had been reached at which "concrete proposals need to be delivered by the two parties on how to end this conflict."

If there is not progress, the United States "will step back as mediators in this process," Bruce told reporters.

Later on April 29 at a UN Security Council meeting, US diplomat John Kelley blamed Russia for the continuing bloodshed, saying it had "regrettably" carried out high-profile strikes "causing needless loss of life, including of innocent civilians."

"Right now, Russia has a great opportunity to achieve a durable peace," Kelley said, while adding that the burden for ending the war rests with Russia and Ukraine.

"It is up to the leaders of both these countries to decide whether peace is possible. If both sides are ready to end the war, the United States will fully support their path to a lasting peace," he said.

President Donald Trump said in an interview with ABC broadcast on April 29 he thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to stop the war in Ukraine. Trump responded "I think he does" when asked whether he thinks Putin wants to make peace in the interview.

Putin on April 28 declared a three-day ceasefire from May 8-10 to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies in World War Two.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy questioned the need to wait until the anniversary for a cease-fire and called for an "immediate, full, and unconditional" 30-day truce.

Trump and his envoys have been pressing Ukraine to agree to a cease-fire. At the same time Trump has been urging Russia to stop attacking Ukraine. In the interview with ABC, Trump said he "was not happy when I saw Putin shooting missiles into a few towns and cities."

The US president reportedly has suggested an official recognition of Russia's takeover of Crimea -- an annexation rejected by nearly all the world -- in addition to land swaps.

Zelenskyy has held firm against formal international recognition of Russia's 2014 takeover of Crimea.

"We all want this war to end in a fair way -- with no rewards for Putin, especially no land," Zelenskyy said on April 29 in a videoconference at a summit organized by Poland.

At the Security Council, France and Britain praised US mediation, while criticizing Russia, which launched more drone attacks late on April 29, hitting the cities of Dnipro and Kharkiv.

Jean-Noel Barrot, France's minister for Europe, said Kyiv had demonstrated goodwill and called Putin the sole obstacle to a cease-fire by seeking Ukraine's "capitulation."

Russia's UN ambassador, Vasily Nebenzya, rejected allegations that Russian forces had targeted civilians and accused Ukraine of using civilians or human shields by positioning air defenses in heavily populated areas.

He accused Kyiv of recklessly rejecting balanced US peace proposals and targeting Russian civilians, while saying it was increasingly difficult for Western backers of Zelenskyy's government to conceal its "brutal, misanthropic and Nazi essence."

Mariana Betsa, a Ukrainian deputy foreign minister, told the Security Council Russia wants Ukraine to surrender and Kyiv could not accept peace at any cost. She said Ukraine would never recognize any temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine as Russian, including Crimea, which Russia has held since 2014.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia- rubio-war-nebenzya-trump/33400754.html

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Rubio Says Progress Needed In Ukraine War Negotiations Or US Will Step Back