Trump: US to ‘take a pass’ if Ukraine talks fail to move

President Donald Trump on Friday signalled that the United States could soon withdraw from its role in brokering peace talks over the Ukraine war if rapid progress is not made between Moscow and Kyiv.

The statement came shortly after Secretary of State Marco Rubio, following discussions with European allies, indicated that Washington would "move on" if a ceasefire deal did not appear achievable within days.

"Yeah, very shortly," Trump told reporters at the Oval Office when asked to confirm Rubio’s remarks. "No specific number of days, but quickly. We want to get it done."

While avoiding direct criticism of either Russian President Vladimir Putin or Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump made it clear that both sides needed to show willingness to move forward.

“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 just take a pass,” Trump said. “But hopefully we won’t have to do that.”

Throughout his campaign for a second term, Trump has repeatedly claimed he could end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours, though he recently admitted the remark was made sarcastically.

Ukraine has reportedly agreed to a temporary ceasefire, accusing Russia of stalling in order to gain a stronger negotiating position.

Trump raised eyebrows in Western capitals earlier this year when he held direct talks with Putin shortly after returning to office. Asked whether the Russian leader might be deliberately delaying peace efforts, Trump responded, “I hope not. I’ll let you know soon.”

Dismissing concerns that he was being manipulated by Putin, a former KGB agent who famously denied plans to invade Ukraine until just before launching the full-scale offensive in February 2022, Trump said: “Nobody’s playing me. I’m trying to help.”