[Source/Observer Network Qi Qian] On April 18 local time, U.S. President Trump said that he was ready to stop his mediation efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict if one side "made reconciliation very difficult."

Reuters reported that both Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Rubio made "abandonment" statements. Earlier, Rubio said that if there was no progress in the ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, the U.S. would abandon its continued efforts to promote it.

"We want to finish this as soon as possible," Trump told reporters at the White House. "But now, if either party makes things very difficult for some reason, we will say, 'You are too stupid, too foolish, too bad, we can only give up on you (take a pass).' "

Trump added, "But hopefully we won't have to do that." When asked how long he was still willing to wait, Trump refused to set a specific deadline. He replied, "Marco (Rubio) is right... We hope to see this end." When asked if Putin was delaying, he said, "I hope not."

According to TASS, in response to the question of whether he thought Russia was trying to deceive the U.S., Trump denied it. He said, "No one is fooling anyone. No, no one is fooling me. I am just trying to help."

Trump continued to boast about his experience in negotiations. "I know when someone is fooling us, and when they are not fooling us, I must see their enthusiasm for ending the negotiation. I think I see this enthusiasm. I think both sides have this enthusiasm."

Trump's latest remarks on the Russia-Ukraine issue on April 18 - Video screenshot

During his campaign, Trump promised to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict within 24 hours of moving into the White House. However, with increasing obstacles, he softened this statement after taking office, hinting that an agreement might be reached in April or May. He pressured both sides to sit down at the negotiating table, threatening stricter sanctions against Russia or halting U.S. military support worth billions of dollars to Kyiv.

On March 18 and 19, Trump spoke separately with Russian President Putin and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. Both calls agreed to a ceasefire at energy facilities and to expand the ceasefire to the Black Sea for technical negotiations, which they considered the "first step" towards a comprehensive resolution of the Ukraine crisis. However, there were many differences in the details of the various statements.

Reuters reported that over the past few weeks, Trump administration officials privately admitted that the possibility of a rapid peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine was becoming smaller.

Until this week, there were signs that the U.S.-Ukrainian negotiations seemed to be making some progress.

The Paris talks on April 17 were the first substantive high-level face-to-face talks held by the U.S., Ukraine, and European countries on Trump's peace process. French President Macron and the Office of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy both described the talks as "positive and constructive."

A U.S. official told Reuters that U.S. and Ukrainian sides would restart negotiations in London next week so that Ukraine could fully agree to Washington's "list of terms." This official said that Kyiv was prepared for a comprehensive ceasefire of at least 30 days or longer in land, sea, and air regions.

On April 18 local time, Kremlin spokesman Peskov responded by saying that progress had been made on the Russia-Ukraine peace agreement, but contacts with the U.S. remained difficult. He said that Russia was striving to resolve the conflict while ensuring its own interests and was still willing to engage in dialogue with the U.S.

Trump's latest statement echoed Rubio's comments. Earlier on April 18, Rubio said that if there were no signs of an agreement in the near future, the U.S. would abandon its efforts to push for a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.

Rubio said, "We will not continue this work for several weeks or months. So we need to quickly determine whether it is possible to reach an agreement in the coming days or weeks. If it is possible, we will continue. If not, we have other priorities to focus on."

Rubio also commented on the Paris talks, stating that the trip was to discuss more specific measures needed to achieve a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. "The president spent 87 days at the highest levels of government repeatedly trying to end this conflict. Now we have reached the moment when we need to decide whether this is possible."

Rubio also said that although the U.S. has provided military assistance to Ukraine for the past three years, the Russia-Ukraine conflict is not related to the U.S. "We did not provoke this conflict..." he said, "We want it to end, but it is not our conflict."

On April 17, from left to right, Director of the German Foreign Ministry's Political Department Satt, French Foreign Minister Baro, British Foreign Secretary Lami, and Rubio met in Paris to discuss issues such as the Ukraine situation - Visual China

CNN cited an unnamed source as saying that Rubio's statement "conveyed the view of the president," i.e., frustration with the peace process "not reaching the level he currently considers."

Reuters also cited a source familiar with internal matters as saying that Trump had clearly conveyed to his team that he questioned whether it was worthwhile to continue negotiations to break the current deadlock. A U.S. official said that Rubio's remarks reflected Trump's "frustration" with this issue and concerns that it would soon become "Trump's war."

According to Bloomberg, sources revealed that during the Paris talks, in order to promote the Russia-Ukraine peace agreement, the U.S. proposed relaxing sanctions on Russia, freezing the frontline, and preparing to recognize Russia's control over Crimea. In addition, Ukraine's application to join NATO would also be put on hold.

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