WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department reiterated its warning that the Trump administration may scale back its role as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia. What You Need To Know The U.S. State Department reiterated its warning that the Trump administration may scale back its role as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said during a briefing Thursday that the “methodology” in how the U.S. contributes will change going forward and that the U.S. will not "ly around the world at the drop of a hat to mediate meetings" The signaled shift in the U.S.’s role came a day after President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a historic mineral rights deal State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said during a briefing Thursday that the “methodology” in how the U.S. contributes to efforts to end the war will change going forward. “We certainly are still committed to it and will help and do what we can,” she said.
“But we are not going to fly around the world at the drop of a hat to mediate meetings. That it is now between the two parties, and now is the time that they need to present and develop concrete ideas about how this conflict is going to end. It’s going to be up to them.” The signaled shift in the U.S.’s role came a day after President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a historic mineral rights deal, which created a co-equal partnership between the two nations through which they both will receive revenue from new natural resource projects in Ukraine.
The agreement had originally been slated to be signed in February but fell apart during an Oval Office meeting in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance criticized Zelenskyy for not being sufficiently thankful for U.S. support for Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion. The next time Trump and Zelenskyy met in person, they spoke for 15 minutes before Pope Francis’ funeral last week, and several days later the mineral deal was signed. Bruce had laid groundwork for Thursday’s comments two days prior when asked about the negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
“We are now at a time where concrete proposals need to be delivered by the two parties on how to end this conflict," she said Tuesday. "How we proceed from here is a decision that belongs now to the president. If there is not progress, we will step back as mediators in this process.” In a statement on X on Friday, she clarified the context of her remarks, writing, "Our posture has not changed on the need for the parties to deliver real progress."
Senior members of the Trump administration in TV interviews Thursday also emphasized the roles of Russia and Ukraine in reaching any future peace deal. “It’s going to be up to the Russians and the Ukrainians now that each side knows what the other’s terms for peace are. It’s going to be up to them to come to an agreement and stop this brutal, brutal conflict,” Vance said while talking to Fox News.
“It’s not going to end anytime soon.” He acknowledged that Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago, starting the war, but said he hopes both countries “come to their senses.” Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was named as the interim national security adviser Thursday, again suggested in an interview that the U.S. may lessen its involvement in the negotiations if no progress is made. “We know where Ukraine is and we know where Russia is right now and where Putin is," he said. "They’re still far apart.
They’re closer, but they’re still far apart. And it’s going to take a real breakthrough here very soon to make this possible, or I think the president is going to have to make a decision about how much more time we’re going to dedicate to this,” he said. While campaigning last year, Trump promised to end the war within 24 hours of taking office.
