Arya News - Marco Rubio warned Friday that the US could walk out on the Ukrainian peace process if progress is not seen "within days." A day earlier, Volodymyr Zelensky accused Trump Ukraine envoy Steve Witkoff of "spreading Russian narratives," and said Witkoff has no "mandate...to speak about Ukrainian territories."
The US secretary of state’s remarks on potentially ending the US peace push in Ukraine signal dual frustrations: with Steve Witkoff’s influence over Ukraine policy, and with Russia’s demands for a lasting peace instead of a temporary ceasefire, military analyst and former Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter told Sputnik.Ritter sees Rubio’s comments as an attempt to “create the atmosphere of a failed policy” to try to get the US to abandon its current policy on Ukraine, but doesn’t see President Trump accepting this position.Ritter also recalled that Rubio"s position in the Trump administration has forced him to pull a 180 degree turn on the traditional pro-Ukraine, anti-Russia posture he held throughout his career in the Senate.Ultimately, Ritter said, what the Ukraine crisis needs right now is diplomacy. "This requires the United States to put pressure on Europe, to put pressure on Ukraine. The Trump administration doesn"t seem to have the leverage necessary to achieve that. This is where Marco Rubio is supposed to be stepping forward to take the lead diplomatically to see the president"s will translated into actual policy that can be implemented. But Rubio doesn"t seem to be inclined to do this."