US may drop Russia-Ukraine ceasefire efforts unless progress is made, Rubio says

Editor’s note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

The U.S. will cease its attempts to negotiate a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia in the following days if there is no signal that an agreement is reachable, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on April 18, Reuters reported.

Speaking after meeting European and Ukrainian officials in Paris, Rubio said that U.S. President Donald Trump is interested in reaching a deal but has other priorities as well.

Trump began his presidency by pledging to broker a ceasefire within 24 hours, eventually extending this deadline to 100 days.

These efforts have largely stalled, as Russia continues to reject a full 30-day ceasefire backed by Washington and Kyiv, and a partial truce on strikes against energy facilities has failed to hold.

The White House has grown increasingly frustrated, with Trump chastising both Ukraine and Russia for failing to reach a deal. The U.S. president has also repeatedly laid the blame for the war on President Volodymyr Zelensky and former U.S. President Joe Biden, calling Russia’s invasion “Biden’s war."