Vance: Time for US to 'walk away' if Russia, Ukraine don't agree to deal

Vice President Vance said it is time for the United States to “walk away” from facilitating ceasefire negotiations if Russia and Ukraine do not agree to a deal that would lead to an end to the war, which has been raging for more than three years. 

"We've issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and the Ukrainians, and it's time for them to either say yes or for the United States to walk away from this process,” Vance told reporters Wednesday during his trip to India. 

Vance said it remains to be seen whether Ukrainian, Russian and other European officials will be able to move talks "over the finish line,” but added he is still optimistic about the process. 

“I think everybody has been negotiating in good faith. But it's now time, I think, to take — if not the final step, one of the final steps, which is, at a broad level, the parties saying, 'We're going to stop the killing. We're going to freeze the territorial lines at some level close to where they are today. And we're going to actually put in place the kind of long-term diplomatic settlement that hopefully will lead to long-term peace,’” the vice president said. 

Vance’s comments come as diplomats from Washington, Kyiv and other European capitals flew to London to discuss a peace plan Wednesday. The meeting was downgraded after the U.S. said Secretary of State Marco Rubio wouldn't attend.

“The Ukraine peace talks meeting with foreign ministers today is being postponed. Official level talks will continue but these are closed to media,” U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy's office said in a statement. 

Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg will represent the U.S. in London, where he will meet with Ukraine’s delegation, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported, citing a Ukrainian presidency source. 

President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff is set to travel to Russia this week for another round of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the White House said Tuesday. 

Similarly to Vance, Rubio offered a warning to both Ukrainian and Russian officials last week, warning the U.S. would “move on” from facilitating potential peace talks if there’s no substantial progress. 

The fighting has continued in Ukraine, with a Russian military drone killing nine and injuring dozens more in the city of Marhanets, officials said Wednesday. In Russia, one individual was injured in the Belgorod region after shelling, the AFP reported.

Putin reportedly offered to pause his three-year invasion of Ukraine along the current front line, the Financial Times reported Tuesday, citing multiple anonymous sources.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, in response, told RIA Novosti news agency that "a lot of fakes are being published now, including those published by respected publications, so one should only listen to primary sources.”