On Thursday, secretary of state Marco Rubio said that either there would need to be a breakthrough towards peace “very soon” or Mr Trump would have to decide how much time the US would dedicate to the conflict. “This is not our war,” he said. At the same time, Mr Vance warned it would be up to the Russians and Ukrainians “now that each side knows what the other's terms for peace are”. “It's going to be up to them to come to an agreement and stop this brutal, brutal conflict,” he told Fox News. Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal suggested Kyiv’s air defence systems would be boosted by a minerals deal signed with the United States this week, which on Thursday is due to go before Ukraine’s parliament for politicians to vote on ratification.
The United States says it remains committed to peace efforts in Ukraine but intends to scale back its role as mediator, the US State Department has said. "We are not going to fly around the world at the drop of a hat to mediate meetings; that is now between the two parties, and now is the time that they need to present and develop concrete ideas about how this conflict is going to end," spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters.
Spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters Thursday that Kyiv and Moscow need to engage directly with each other and that the US will no longer “fly around the world at the drop of a hat to mediate meetings.” “Now is the time that they need to present and develop concrete ideas about how this conflict is going to end. It’s going to be up to them,” she said, adding that the US still remains committed to helping reach a deal. The US “will not be the mediators” going forward if progress is not made, Bruce warned, adding that the Trump administration has been frustrated by Russian President Vladimir Putin seemingly dragging his feet on taking any meaningful steps towards peace — despite repeatedly saying he’s ready to do so.
