President Trump says US will 'pass' on Ukraine peace talks if no progress soon

Transcript

00:00President Trump has confirmed that the US will walk away from attempts to reach a Russia-Ukraine

00:05peace deal unless progress is made soon. He was echoing comments made earlier in the day by his

00:11Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who on a trip to Paris said the US would give up if there was no

00:16movement in a matter of days. From Washington, here's John Sudworth. Russian missiles continue

00:23to pound Ukraine. This attack left one person dead and injured more than a hundred. But the man who

00:34once said he'd end the war on day one seems to be having second thoughts about ending it at all.

00:40If for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we're just going to say you're

00:47foolish, you're fools, you're horrible people and we're going to just take a pass. But hopefully

00:52we won't have to do that. The threat to walk away has come as a surprise. Talks between US,

00:59Ukrainian and European officials who met in Paris this week were said to be going well.

01:05The first sign that something was wrong, though, came from one of those in attendance,

01:10America's top diplomat. But we're not going to continue with this endeavor for weeks and months

01:15on end. So we need to determine very quickly now, and I'm talking about a matter of days,

01:19whether or not this is doable over the next few weeks. If it is, we're in. If it's hot,

01:26then we'll have to, we have other priorities to focus on as well.

01:30America's allies are wondering what it all means. Progress on a minerals deal in which the US gets

01:36access to Ukrainian resources is still being talked up by Washington as a demonstration of

01:41its long-term commitment to the country. On the other hand, Ukraine is increasingly troubled by

01:47the US president's outreach to Russia. His envoy, Steve Witkoff, talks of a friendship with Vladimir

01:53Putin and of the compelling commercial opportunities with Moscow. For now, Mr. Trump says he's still

02:01holding out hope of a peace deal. I have to see my whole life has been one big negotiation. And I

02:07know when people are playing us. And I know when they're not. And I have to see an enthusiasm to

02:12want to end it. And I think I see that enthusiasm. I think I see it from both sides. But you're going

02:20to know soon. Right now, you're playing cards. You're playing cards. After this highly public

02:25confrontation in February, you're gambling with World War III. Volodymyr Zelenskyy has continued to

02:32come under criticism from Mr. Trump, who said this week he was not a big fan of the Ukrainian leader.

02:39Whether the US threat to step back is real or a negotiating tactic, fears that Russia is now

02:45gaining the upper hand mean it's Ukraine that's feeling the pressure. John Sudworth reporting there.