Donald Trump has threatened to “take a pass” on attempts to secure a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia, as he denied the Kremlin was playing him.
The US president’s past confidence he could do a quick deal to end the conflict has proved to be misplaced, and now his administration has floated the prospect of abandoning its efforts to broker one.
US threatens to abandon peace talks – latest updates
Mr Trump’s secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has said the White House is prepared to “move on”, with little sign of fighting coming to an end some two months after talks began with Vladimir Putin.
Negotiations have since taken place with both Kyiv and Moscow, the latter of which Mr Trump has been accused of being soft on, but the war has continued well beyond its three-year anniversary.
Asked what it will take to secure a deal, Mr Trump told reporters at the White House he needed to see “enthusiasm” from both sides.
“I think I see it,” he added.
“It’s coming to a head right now.”
‘I know when people are playing us’
Mr Trump dismissed the idea he was being played by Mr Putin, saying: “Nobody is playing me. I’m trying to help.”
“My whole life has been one big negotiation and I know when people are playing us and when they’re not,” he added.
Nonetheless, Sky News’ Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett said the White House raising the spectre of walking away from peace talks showed Mr Trump was frustrated by the lack of progress.
Before winning last November’s presidential election, he infamously claimed he could end the war in a day.
Echoing Mr Rubio, he’s now said “we’re just going to take a pass” if Russia or Ukraine “makes it very difficult”.
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Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov insisted progress towards a deal had been made, but acknowledged the “complicated” situation was “not an easy one” to solve.
A 30-day moratorium on striking energy infrastructure targets was previously agreed, but both sides have since accused one another of breaching it.
Russia has also continued to launch deadly airstrikes on civilian infrastructure – the bloodiest of the more recent attacks saw at least 35 people killed in Sumy.
Kyiv and its European allies have said the continued attacks show Russia is not serious about peace.
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Looking ahead, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy has indicated a “memorandum of intent” on a much vaunted US minerals deal could soon be signed.
Mr Trump wants to profit from the country’s natural resources in what he says is repayment for military aid.
It’s hoped America having a stake in the country could also help maintain any truce.
The deal was due to be done weeks ago but was derailed by his falling out with Mr Trump at the White House.
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More meetings are also expected among the so-called coalition of the willing, assembled by Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron to help police any peace deal.
Sir Keir spoke with Mr Trump on the phone on Saturday, with ending the Ukraine war a topic of conversation.
