Top US diplomats say they know “not months, not months” whether Vladimir Putin is serious about peace and ceasefire in Ukraine.
After a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said ending the war was a decision that the Russian president must make “finally.”
This follows similar comments from his British and French counterparts on Friday morning, and accused Putin of continuing to bomb him, saying he was “stopping his leg.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities said that a Russian strike in Kalkiv killed at least five people, while a ballistic missile attack by Krivii Li killed 12 people.
Russia and Ukraine have stepped up their attacks as US President Donald Trump is trying to unite them in order to sign a ceasefire contract to end more than three years of combat.
Last month, Ukraine agreed to accept the US proposal for a first 30-day ceasefire following talks in Saudi Arabia, but Russia still needs to make a decision.
The attack on the city of Kalkiv in the northeast came hours before the French and British chiefs arrived in Kiev.
In March, the allies met in Britain to discuss ending the war and defending Ukraine from Russia with the “coalition of will.”
“At some point, every time peace is reached, we will need military capabilities or security,” French Foreign Minister Jean Noel Barlott said Friday.
Speaking in Brussels, he joined in with British Foreign Minister David Lamy, who said “I can now accept a ceasefire. [but] He continues to attack Ukraine, its civilians, its energy supplies.
“Vladimir Putin, we look at you and know what you’re doing,” he said, adding that the Russian leader “continues to be confused and twitch.”
When asked whether negotiations were a delayed tactic, Rubio reiterated Trump’s stance on ending the war soon, saying they “we’re going to wait and see.”
“The Russians know our position in terms of wanting to end the war, and we will soon learn from their answers as to whether they are serious about moving on to true peace and whether it is a delayed tactic,” he added, emphasizing that Trump “will not fall into an endless trap of negotiations.”
A senior NATO official told the BBC there was no indication that Putin was preparing for a ceasefire. But Rubio is full of hope.
“I hope they are. It’s good for the world when the war ends, but obviously we have to test that proposition,” he added, explaining that the US will reevaluate their approach in response to Moscow’s response.
“At some point, it’s quite shortly – not six months from now – Russia and Putin have to make a decision.”
On Thursday, Poland’s Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski similarly said Putin had few months to show that he was serious about ending the war.
“If he does not agree to a ceasefire, our patience will not be eternal in the way Ukraine agreed to a ceasefire,” he said following a meeting with Rubio.
He told the BBC he believes the US is “giving Putin the opportunity to end the war while saving his face,” but otherwise “gloves” could be in the way of more sanctions against Russia and more military aid from Ukraine.
