US ‘testing’ whether Russia is serious about peace in Ukraine, says Secretary of State Marco Rubio
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A handout image shows a Russian self-propelled gun firing towards Ukrainian positions at an undisclosed location in Ukraine.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
BRUSSELS – The United States will know in a matter of weeks if Russia is serious about peace with Ukraine, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on April 4, after European allies accused Moscow of stalling over the Trump administration’s call for a ceasefire.
US President Donald Trump, who has promised to bring a quick end to the three-year-old war, has for weeks said he believes Russian leader Vladimir Putin is committed to peace.
Sources have told Reuters the White House has grown wary of Mr Putin’s intentions in recent days, although Mr Trump continues to signal publicly his belief that Mr Putin wants to end the war.
“We will know soon enough, in a matter of weeks, not months, whether Russia is serious about peace or not. I hope they are,” Mr Rubio said at the end of a two-day Nato meeting.
“If this is dragging things out, President Trump’s not going to fall into the trap of endless negotiations about negotiations,” Mr Rubio said.
“We’re testing to see if the Russians are interested in peace. Their actions – not their words, their actions – will determine whether they’re serious or not, and we intend to find that out sooner rather than later.”
Moscow rejected a US proposal in March for a full 30-day ceasefire after Ukraine said it would agree.
The warring sides then agreed to a limited pause in attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure, which both accuse the other of violating. Washington says it is still in talks with both sides.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio talking to reporters on April 4, with United States Permanent Representative to Nato Matthew Whitaker, at the Nato headquarters in Brussels.
‘We see you’
European allies want Washington to demand Moscow prove it is serious by signing up to a ceasefire, with some suggesting that an explicit deadline should be set.
Moscow “owes an answer to the United States” which had “worked very hard to come up with a mediation effort and a ceasefire proposal”, said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.
British Foreign Minister David Lammy said Mr Putin “continues to obfuscate, continues to drag his feet”.
Mr Lammy added: “He could accept a ceasefire now. He continues to bombard Ukraine, its civilian population, its energy supplies. We see you, Vladimir Putin, we know what you are doing.”
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at a North Atlantic Council meeting in Brussels on April 4.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Mr Putin’s talk of negotiations was “nothing but empty promises” and the Russian President was “playing for time by raising ever new demands”.
The foreign ministers of Canada and Estonia were among those calling for timelines for Russia to accept a ceasefire.
A senior State Department official said late on April 3 that there was not necessarily a consensus on a timeline for increasing pressure on Russia, but there was a recognition that “the sooner, the better”.
“There was consensus that Russia needs to do more, that Russia should agree to a ceasefire.”
European faith in the US as the continent’s ultimate protector against any attack from Russia has been shaken over the past months by Mr Trump’s outreach to Moscow.
Asked whether ministers received reassurances from Mr Rubio that Washington will not make concessions to Russia that would be bad for European interests, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told Reuters: “I felt that the room had a broad agreement on where the red lines are.”
Asked the same question, a senior European diplomat said: “I would say that he (Mr Rubio) said all the right things. But the point is whether there is enough trust left between the US and its allies.” REUTERS