President Donald Trump on Friday said the United States could step back from mediation efforts if progress stalls.
"If for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we're just going to say: 'You're foolish. You're fools. You're horrible people' — and we're going to just take a pass," Trump told reporters.
"But hopefully we won't have to do that," he added.
Trump also told journalists that his administration was pushing to get the deal done "quickly."
"It's coming to a head right now," he declared.
His Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed that sentiment earlier in the week, warning that Washington could "move on" from its involvement in negotiations to end the war if no progress is made "within a matter of days."
The US State Department said on Thursday that the Trump administration had shared its peace framework with all involved parties, describing it as a plan for a "durable and lasting peace."
It added that peace was possible if all sides committed to an agreement.
Moscow has maintained that Kyiv must recognise the annexation of four Ukrainian regions by Russia and give up its aspirations to join NATO—conditions Ukraine has repeatedly rejected.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, starting the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II.
Saturday is day 1,150 of Russia's war on Ukraine.
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Source: IAR, PAP, cnbc.com, nbcnews.com