2 weeks Ago By Hannah Broughton
Secretary of State Macro Rubio told reporters on Friday that Russia’s commitment to achieving a ceasefire in Ukraine should become apparent in a “matter of weeks”. At a NATO meeting in Brussels on Friday , Rubio said, "The Russians know our position in terms of wanting to end the war, and we will know from their answers very soon whether they are serious about proceeding with real peace or whether it is a delay tactic.” Officials from Britain and France have already accused the Russian leader of “dragging his heels” and questions are mounting over Moscow’s true intentions in regards to its engagement with the Trump administration.
Gerard Depardieu described as 'sex attacker who preys on weak' in court Cracks in NATO as France warns not all of Europe will defend Ukraine In early March it rejected a 30-day ceasefire proposed by Ukraine and then refused to agree to a Black Sea ceasefire later that month unless sanctions were lifted. "[If] It's a delay tactic, the president’s not interested in that. President Trump is not going to fall into the trap of endless negotiations about negotiations," Rubio continued while refusing to comment on what conditions Russia had set out to secure a peace deal.
Rubio did stress, however, that official readouts don’t always reflect what was actually discussed between the US and Russia . He said, "I guess it's part of the game. At the end of the day, what's going to matter here is whether we're going to move towards peace or not.
" Ukraine and Russia would both need to make concessions to end the war, said Rubio, but he refused to say what those should be, assuring that the details would become clear as the negotiations go on. "Initially, it was important to talk [to the Russians] because we haven't talked to them in a long time. But now we've reached the stage [where] we need to make progress," Rubio explained.
The Secretary of State said making progress with negotiations will be "hard," but he does remain "optimistic." Rubio noted, "There are some promising signs. There are some troubling signs.
It's not going to be easy. No one ever said this would be easy, but we're going to find out sooner rather than later. And let's just say I'm hopeful.
I remain hopeful." At the same meeting between NATO member states, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy accused Russia of deliberately stalling ceasefire talks. He said, "Our judgment is that Putin continues to obfuscate, and continues to drag his feet.
” “He continues to bombard Ukraine , its civilian population, its energy supplies. We see you, Vladimir Putin . We know what you are doing.
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