State Department says U.S. will no longer ‘fly around the world’ to mediate Russia–Ukraine talks

The United States will no longer “fly around the world” to act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine as part of a shift in Washington’s approach to peace negotiations, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.

According to Bruce, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has made it “very clear” that the U.S. is changing “the methodology of how we contribute” to the talks — and that it will no longer play the role of intermediary. “[W]e certainly are still committed to it and will help and do what we can,” she said. “But we are not going to fly around the world at the drop of a hat to mediate meetings.”

Bruce said it is now time for both sides to “present and develop concrete ideas about how this conflict is going to end.” She also emphasized that the U.S. is “clearly […] not removing any sanctions that currently exist” against Russia.

In a separate interview with Fox News, Rubio said that the positions of Russia and Ukraine “are still a little far apart.” “Putin can’t take all of Ukraine, Ukraine can’t push the Russians all the way back to where they were in 2014,” he said.

Rubio stressed that the U.S. is not giving up on efforts to reach a peace agreement and will continue to offer support. But at some point, he added, Trump “has to decide how much more time” he is willing to devote to the issue, given that there are “more important issues going on around the world.”

“Not that a war in Ukraine is not important,” Rubio said. “But I would say what’s happening with China is more important in the long term for the future of the world.”