Honolulu Star Bulletin - US threatens to withdraw from Ukraine talks if no progress

European powers have been seeking a seat at the table since US President Donald Trump shocked them by opening talks to end the three-year-old war with Russia.

But Trump's push to stem the fighting started by Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine has stumbled, with Russia's President Vladimir Putin rebuffing a complete truce.

Rubio said European officials had been "very helpful and constructive with their ideas" during talks in Paris on Thursday, which he attended with US envoy Steve Witkoff and also included top Ukrainian officials.

"We'd like them to remain engaged... I think the UK and France and Germany can help us move the ball on this and then get this closer to a resolution," he said.

But "we need to figure out here now, within a matter of days, whether this is doable in the short term, because if it's not, then I think we're just going to move on," he told reporters at the Le Bourget airport.

"We have other priorities to focus on as well."

He said he hoped for "more definitive answers" at a new meeting including the United States, France, Britain, Germany and Ukraine in London "early next week".

- Mineral talks -

Ukraine said Friday its prime minister would visit Washington next week for talks with top US officials aimed at clinching a long-fraught minerals and resources deal.

Trump wants the deal as compensation for aid given to Ukraine by his predecessor, Joe Biden.

An agreement would be designed to give the United States royalty payments on profits from Ukrainian mining of resources and rare minerals.

Rubio late Thursday in a phone call to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov had said "peace is possible if all parties commit to reaching an agreement", the US State Department said.

Rubio said as he left Paris on Friday that he hoped European nations would consider lifting sanctions against Russia over the war.

"Many of them are European sanctions that we can't lift, if that were ever to be part of a deal," he said.

European countries last month had agreed to ramp up rather than lift sanctions on Russia.

France and Britain have sought a coordinated European response to defending Ukraine, during the conflict and in any ceasefire.

- 'Contribution of Europeans' -

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the Paris talks had made a breakthrough because the United States, Ukraine and European ministers had "gathered around the same table".

He said the United States "has understood that a just and sustainable peace... can only be achieved with the consent and contribution of Europeans."

Russia's strikes, which have recently killed dozens of people including children in Ukrainian cities, have increased pressure for new diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.

Zelensky earlier accused Witkoff of "spreading Russian narratives" after the US envoy suggested a peace deal with Russia hinged on the status of Ukraine's occupied territories.

"I believe that Mr Witkoff has taken on the strategy of the Russian side," Zelensky told reporters.

Witkoff said this week that Putin was open to "permanent peace" after talks with the Kremlin chief in Saint Petersburg, their third meeting since Trump returned to the White House in January.

He also suggested Zelensky be removed from office, sparking an angry response from Trump who said he was "very angry" with the Russian leader.

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R.Pilialoha--HStB