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US warns Russia, Ukraine of ceasing mediation efforts without concrete proposals
The United States has threatened to stop their efforts to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine if both parties don't deliver concrete proposals.
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday warned Russia and Ukraine that the country would cease its mediation efforts if both parties did not provide “concrete proposals” towards ending the conflict, reported news agency AFP.
"We are now at a time where concrete proposals need to be delivered by the two parties on how to end this conflict," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce stated on behalf of Rubio.
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“If there is not progress, we will step back as mediators in this process,” she added, and said that it would be up to President Trump on whether to continue with the diplomatic efforts on ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Trump, who celebrates a 100 days in office today, had vowed when he came to power, that he would end the three year-long war between the countries.
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Last week, after a ballistic missile destroyed a residential area of Kyiv in one of the deadliest attacks on the city since the Russian invasion, Trump took to social media and wrote, “Vladimir, STOP.”
Zelensky on Russia-Ukraine conflict
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday, called for a "fair" end to the war with Russia without "rewards" for Vladimir Putin, rejecting demands on his country to make territorial concessions.
"We all want this war to end in a fair way -- with no rewards for Putin, especially no land," Zelensky said via videoconference at a summit organised by Poland, as reported by AFP.
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Zelensky recently pushed back against a proposal by the United States to concede Russia's control of the Crimean peninsula.
US President Donald Trump had suggested that Zelensky could allow Russia to have the Black sea peninsula as part of a ceasefire agreement.
The Ukrainian President also said, “They must take clear steps to end the war, and we insist that an unconditional and complete ceasefire must be the first step.”
"Right now, they are worried that their parade is in jeopardy, and rightly so, but they should be worried that this war is still going on," he added, taking a veiled dig at Russia which is celebrating the 80th anniversary of its Victory Day.
