Washington reaffirms optimism on resolving Ukraine conflict despite vain Paris talks

The United States remains optimistic it can put an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine even though recent negotiations in Paris point to Washington's frustration at the pace of their progress.

Vice President JD Vance reiterated the government's stance on April 18 as he met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for the second time in 24 hours, Caliber.Az reports citing foreign media.

"I want to update the [Italian] prime minister on some of the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. [...] even in the past 24 hours, we think we have some interesting things to report on," Vance told reporters sitting alongside Meloni.

Only hours earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters following a round of negotiation with European and Ukrainian officials in Paris that US President Donald Trump would walk away from trying to broker a Russia-Ukraine peace deal within days unless there were clear signs that a deal could be done.

“If it is not possible to end the war in Ukraine, we need to move on,” he told reporters before departing the French capital. “We need to determine very quickly now, and I’m talking about a matter of days, whether or not this is doable,” he said.

According to the US diplomat, a broad framework has been presented to both sides to determine whether the differences can be narrowed in this short timeframe.

By Nazrin Sadigova