Trump’s Ukraine Peace Push Hits Doubt

Paris/Washington/Moscow: The United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, today said that if a clear path to peace between Ukraine and Russia does not emerge soon, Washington will step back from efforts to broker peace. Rubio, who spoke to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to brief him on the peace proposal presented yesterday to the Ukrainian delegation in Paris and to Russian officials by telephone, expressed US President Donald Trump’s and the United States’ hopes that this proposal will be accepted, and will lead to a durable and lasting peace in Ukraine.

Yesterday, Rubio’s Élysée Palace summit in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Germany’s Political Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Günter Sautter, sought a 30-day ceasefire. Rubio thereafter had a telephone conversation yesterday from Paris with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to inform the latter about the contacts he and the Special Envoy of the US President Steve Witkoff had there with representatives of Ukraine, France and a number of other European countries.

“The Secretary conveyed to his Russian counterpart the same message the U.S. team communicated to the Ukrainian delegation and our European allies in Paris: President Trump and the United States want this war to end, and have now presented to all parties the outlines of a durable and lasting peace. The encouraging reception in Paris to the U.S. framework shows that peace is possible if all parties commit to reaching an agreement,” the State Department stated.

It was emphasised that the mentioned contacts took place in line with the topics of consultations held between Washington and Moscow, including the recent conversation between Russian President Vladimir  Putin and Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg.

The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that Lavrov confirmed Moscow’s readiness to continue working together with American colleagues to reliably eliminate the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis. The Minister and the Secretary of State agreed to maintain operational communication, including in light of the meetings planned by the Americans and Europeans with the Ukrainian side.

However, in a press briefing on the very same day, the Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova underscored the Kyiv regime’s failure to adhere to the 30-day moratorium on strikes against the fuel and energy complex (FEC) facilities.

She claimed Ukraine “continues to brazenly disregard this 30-day moratorium on attacks against energy infrastructure, agreed upon by the Presidents of Russia and the United States on March 18, 2025, and endorsed by [Ukraine’s President] Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have conducted nearly daily UAV raids targeting Russian fuel and energy infrastructure. Since the declared “energy truce,” over 80 such attacks have been recorded.” She proceeded to offer specific examples and said they “confirm the urgent nature of the special military operation to denazify and demilitarise Ukraine and to eliminate threats emanating from its territory”. She added, “As the Russian leadership has repeatedly stated, all its objectives will, without a doubt, be fulfilled”.

In Washington, US State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said, “President Trump has committed his administration to peace and a future that everyone can count on. His vision and demand for an end to the hostilities remains a north star for Secretary Rubio, Ambassador Witkoff, Special Presidential Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg, and so many others who are determined to make clear to everyone around the world that the Russia-Ukraine war would never have happened if President Trump had been president at the time. Now, he remains committed to reversing the disaster that has unfolded.”

The French side hinted at additional conversations next week in London on Ukraine, but Bruce said, although she heard about that statement, “I can’t say right now about what those specifics are or what the Secretary’s actions will be, but stay tuned. Obviously, these are – these are important meetings, but as the Secretary has noted, we aren’t going to be having meetings about meetings”.

Incidentally, on April 16, 2025,  the U.S. voted against a UN General Assembly resolution condemning Russian actions against Ukraine, along with North Korea, Sudan. This marked the second time with, similar vote, and analysts said this indicated Washington’s optimism about Russian intentions to end the war, as well as its own work on effecting a peace deal.