President Donald Trump said Friday the United States could walk away from the negotiating table to end the Russia-Ukraine war, echoing warnings from Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
In a press conference from the Oval Office, Trump repeated his desire to get the war in Ukraine resolved quickly, a deal his administration has been pushing to close since he took office. The potential ceasefire between the two countries has largely fallen apart as Russia restarted its offensive in the war it started.
Trump backed up Rubio, saying he is right that if either side continues to block the ceasefire process, the U.S. will step away from facilitating a peace deal — without noting a distinction on if it was Russia or Ukraine who were hampering talks.
“If for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re just going to say ‘you’re foolish, you’re fools, you’re horrible people’ and we’re going to take a pass,” Trump told reporters.
Envoys from the Trump administration have met recently with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump kept his tone optimistic Friday, adding that “I think we have a good chance of solving the problem however.”
He avoided committing that the U.S. would continue to support Ukraine militarily in the event that peace talks are abandoned. “I’m not going to say that,” Trump said, “because I think we’re gonna get it done.”
Rubio — speaking with reporters after meeting with U.S. allies in Paris — said earlier Friday that the Trump administration is nearing a point where it has to decide if both sides actually want a deal.
“I’m talking about a matter of days, whether or not this is doable over the next few weeks,” Rubio said. “If it is, we’re in. If it’s not, then we have other priorities to focus on.”
Rubio, together with U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg, met with European leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss details of a proposal to temporarily halt the war.
Most of Europe has remained steadfast in its support of Ukraine in the face of Russia’s aggression.
The U.S. had historically backed Ukraine until Trump took office earlier this year, since which Trump has occasionally berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — at one point calling him a “dictator with elections” and dressing him down in an Oval Office meeting.
Rubio added Friday that the administration is prepared to keep working at a deal if both sides can get to the table. Vice President JD Vance also said he was optimistic that the war will end, speaking with reporters from Rome on Friday.
“Nobody is playing anybody,” Trump said. “We’re going to see if we can get it done. We have a really good chance of getting it done and it’s coming to a head right now.”
