The U.S. is stepping back from its role as a mediator in the Ukraine-Russia conflict, according to a State Department announcement on Friday, May 2nd. While officials say America “remains committed” to achieving lasting peace, Washington appears frustrated with the lack of progress from both sides.
“We are not going to fly around the world at the drop of a hat to mediate meetings; that is now between the two parties, and now is the time that they need to present and develop concrete ideas about how this conflict is going to end,” Tammy Bruce, the department’s spokesperson, told reporters.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio had already issued a warning earlier, saying the U.S. may be ready to “move on” from the peace process if there’s no real movement. On May 1st, Vice President JD Vance added that the war is unlikely to end “any time soon.”
According to the Vice President, it is “going to be up to the Russians and Ukrainians now that each side knows what the other’s terms for peace are. It’s going to be up to them to come to an agreement and stop this brutal, brutal conflict.”
Earlier this year, the U.S. tried to jumpstart peace efforts with proposals for a 30-day ceasefire and partial truces to protect civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. Kyiv has accepted some of those U.S.-backed ideas, but Ukrainian President Zelenskyy remains firm on his peace demands, which has made further progress difficult. Russia, meanwhile, has either stalled or rejected proposals outright—and has ramped up attacks.The violence even drew rare public criticism of Putin from President Trump, who called for an end to the bloodshed and urged both sides to reach a peace deal.
