'Nobody is playing me': Trump says 'good chance' of Ukraine peace deal but admits US will 'take a pass' if talks stall
by Danielle de Wolfe · LBCBy Danielle de Wolfe
Donald Trump has declared that any party refusing to move forward with Ukraine-Russia peace talks are "fools" and "horrible people".
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Speaking on Friday, the US President doubled down on earlier comments made by his Secretary of State, confirming the US would "just take a pass" if negotiations appear to be stalling.
Marco Rubio claimed on Friday that the White House would "walk away" from attempts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine failing any further progress.
Asked whether the claim was accurate, Trump asserted he would abandon attempts "very shortly" if a deal could not be reached.
"How many days is that?" one reporter asked him from the White House.
"No specific number of days. But quickly, we want to get it done," Trump responded.
Asked whether Russia was playing the US, the president added: "Nobody is playing me. I'm trying to help."
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He added "we have a really good chance" of getting a deal.
"It's coming to a head right now," he added on Friday.
"Now, 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."
Adding: "But hopefully, we won't have to do that."
Asked if he was prepared to walk away altogether from US efforts to broker a deal, Trump added: "Well, I don't want to say that, but we want to see it end."
Speaking from Paris on Friday morning, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the White House will give up all attempts to broker a peace between Russia and Ukraine if there are no signs of progress in the coming days.
Mr Rubio said: “I think from the US perspective, we've spent three years, billions of dollars supporting the Ukrainian side, but now we've reached a point where we have other things we have to focus on.
“We're prepared to be engaged in this as long as it takes, but not indefinitely, not without progress.c
“I think the President feels strongly that we've dedicated a tremendous.
“We've done more in 80 days than Biden ever did to bring this war to an. So we've dedicated almost the entirety of the President's first hundred days in office at the highest levels possible, to trying to achieve a peace here.
"We need to determine very quickly now - and I'm talking about a matter of days - whether or not this is doable in the next few weeks. If it is, we're in. If it's not, then we have other priorities to focus on as well."
It comes after Trump said a deal between Russia and Ukraine is “close” and that the White House is expecting a response from Moscow in the coming days.
On Friday, Ukraine and the US signed a memorandum of intent on a mineral and rare earths deal that will pave the way for further military aid from the White House, Ukraine's minister for the economy said.
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The deal is expected to be signed in full next week.
The agreement will see the US earn profits from the rare minerals on Ukrainian soil in exchange for further military aid.
The Trump administration has billed the deal as “repayment” for the money it has spent to defend the European nation.
On Thursday, Zelenskyy accused Trump's envoy of 'spreading Russian narratives' as the US president said he is 'not a big fan' of his Ukrainian counterpart.
The Ukrainian president said the US envoy Steve Witkoff was 'spreading Russian narratives' after a meeting between Witkoff and Putin.
Russian state media said the talks lasted more than four hours, but the details of the talks are as yet unclear.
Steve Witkoff attended a peace summit in Paris on Thursday, along with US secretary of state Marco Rubio, and representatives from Britain, Germany, France and Ukraine.
Zelenskyy also said Ukraine had evidence that China has been supplying Russia with artillery and gunpowder.
Meanwhile, Trump said he does not blame Zelenskyy for the war, but was 'not a big fan' of the Ukrainian president.
He made his comments during a press conference with Italian PM Giorgia Meloni at the White House.
"I don't hold Zelenskyy responsible, but I'm not exactly thrilled with the fact that that war started," the US president told reporters.
"And, so I'm not happy with him, and I'm not happy with anybody involved, " he added.
"I'm not blaming him, but what I am saying is that I wouldn't say he's done the greatest job. Okay? I'm not a big fan."