US withdraws from Ukraine-Russia peace talks

AUTHOR:M.J. GDNUS

The United States is withdrawing from ceasefire talks in Ukraine, the State Department announced.

The decision comes shortly after the US and Ukraine signed a minerals agreement under more favorable terms for Ukraine than previously thought, and US President Donald Trump approved the first round of arms deliveries to Kiev since his administration took power again.

The decision also came after Russian President Vladimir Putin refused to sign a ceasefire agreement. The Kremlin, as we recall, rejected the US proposal for a ceasefire this week because it was not guaranteed international recognition of the territory occupied by the Russian army. Ukraine has repeatedly refused to accept Russia's annexation of its territories, with the message that Putin "should not be rewarded for starting a war".

Sources in Washington, as reported by the Telegraph, claim that Trump is increasingly frustrated with Putin's behavior. At the same time, US intelligence reports suggest that the Russian president is now in a weakened position and has changed his war aims to consolidate his gains.

On Wednesday, Trump approved the export of US weapons to Kiev for the first time, worth at least $50 million. It is the first such authorization since he returned to power and marks a drastic shift in his policy towards the war in Ukraine.

State Department: Time for concrete ideas

State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said that the US is changing the "methodology of how we contribute" and that it will "no longer be flying around the world in the blink of an eye" to meetings about a possible ceasefire, The Times reported.

- It's all about the two sides now. The time has come when they have to develop concrete ideas on how to end the conflict and present them. That will be up to them - Bruce said.

US Vice President J.D. Vance offered similar sentences, telling Fox News that it was up to Russia and Ukraine to "come to an agreement and stop this brutal, brutal conflict".

"This is not going anywhere. And it's not going to end anytime soon," Vance said.

US officials have been warning for days about the possibility of pulling out of the talks if there are no concrete proposals to end the conflict.