Rubio said lawmakers are preparing to raise new sanctions against Russia if negotiations for peace in Ukraine falter.
Efforts to negotiate peace between Russia and Ukraine won’t last forever, and the Trump administration could decide within weeks whether or not Moscow is seriously committed to the process, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on April 4.
Speaking at a press conference at the NATO headquarters in Belgium on April 4, Rubio said President Donald Trump will not “fall into the trap of endless negotiations about negotiations.”
“We will know soon enough whether or not Russia is serious about peace,” Rubio said.
Rubio’s comments come as European leaders have accused Moscow of intentionally slow-walking the peace process.
Trump had made peace negotiations a recurring theme of his 2024 campaign and had repeatedly claimed he could settle the conflict within 24 hours.
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Now, more than two months into Trump’s second term, a peace deal remains elusive.
Last month, the Trump administration proposed an expansive 30-day cease-fire.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy voiced support for the proposal, but Putin raised questions about its enforceability and whether Kyiv’s various foreign backers could continue to flow weapons their way during the pause.
In lieu of a full cease-fire, Moscow and Kyiv have both said they would accept a limited cease-fire preventing each other from targeting energy sites.
Despite expressing support for such a moratorium, both sides have accused the other of continued attacks on energy sites.
Speaking with reporters on April 4, Rubio acknowledged the reports of continuing attacks on energy sites. He said such accusations are typical “of cease-fires like this.”
Beyond the moratorium on attacks on energy sites, the Trump administration has been working with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators on a maritime cease-fire in the Black Sea.
Russia has requested some sanctions relief as part of a Black Sea cease-fire, but European leaders have balked at the idea.
While the Trump administration is continuing to evaluate Moscow’s willingness to finalize a deal, Rubio warned that time is running out.
“We will know soon enough—in a matter of weeks, not months—whether Russia is serious about peace or not,” he said.
Rubio noted lawmakers have already begun preparing legislation to levy new economic sanctions against Russia if peace talks falter.
He said U.S. negotiators have explained these consequences to their Russian counterparts “in the nicest way possible.”
Rubio said the Trump administration needs to see progress from Russia, “or we’ll have to conclude that they’re not interested in peace.”
Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and a special envoy for Putin, visited with U.S. negotiators in Washington this week.
In remarks to reporters carried by Russia’s state-backed news agency TASS on Friday, Dmitriev said the latest discussions had yielded some progress.
“I would say that today and yesterday we made three steps forward on a large number of issues,” he said.
While the Trump administration is still weighing Moscow’s intentions, European officials have been more dismissive.
“Our judgment is that Putin continues to obfuscate, continues to drag his feet,” British Foreign Secretary David Lammy told reporters at NATO headquarters on Friday, while speaking alongside French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.
Barrot said Russia “has been flip-flopping, continuing its strikes on energy infrastructure, continuing its war crimes.”
Separately, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Putin’s talk of negotiations is “nothing but empty promises” and that the Russian president is “playing for time by raising ever new demands.”
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
