The US will "walk away" from the negotiations if any of the parties to the war in Ukraine complicates the process of ending the war.
The US President Donald Trump said this during a speech in the Oval Office, NBC News reports.
"Weʼre talking about people dying here. Ideally, weʼre going to stop it (the war). If for some reason one of the two sides creates serious obstacles, weʼll just say, ʼYouʼre stupid, youʼre terrible people,ʼ and give up everything. But hopefully it wonʼt come to that," he said.
However, Trump refused to say whether the US would completely withdraw from the talks, stressing: "I donʼt want to say it, but we want it to end."
He also declined to say whether the US would continue to support Ukraine if the administration walked away from the negotiating table.
Trump said he needed to see “enthusiasm” from Ukraine and Russia to show they wanted to end the conflict. He also dismissed suggestions that Russia was manipulating him: “Nobody’s playing me. I’m just trying to help.”
This statement came shortly after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the United States may end its mediation in establishing peace in Ukraine if it does not see clear signs of the possibility of reaching a peace agreement.
- Washington is negotiating with Russia and Ukraine to end the war, but a true ceasefire is still far from certain. Kyiv has already agreed to halt hostilities in the Black Sea and not attack Russian energy facilities during a 30-day truce. Moscow, in return, has only promised not to attack energy facilities and said it would implement agreements on the Black Sea only after Western sanctions are lifted.
- The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged that Russia is violating the partial ceasefire and warned the Russians against dragging out the peace process. The US President Donald Trump had previously promised to impose tough sanctions against Russia in such a case, but has not yet done so.
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