US to wind down its peace broker role in Ukraine war

‘We will no longer be the mediators’, says senior state official

- JANE DALTON

The US will no longer mediate between Russia and Ukraine, leaving the two countries to work out how to end the war, a state department official says.

Tammy Bruce said US envoys would no longer fly around the world “at the drop of a hat” to act as a go-between in peace talks.

It was now “between the two parties” to present concrete ideas on how the conflict would end, she insisted, although the US remained committed to helping.

She said the US was changing the methodology of how it contributed to the conflict, adding: “We will not be the mediators.”

US president Donald Trump and vice-president JD Vance have both previously warned that they could walk away from peace talks if there was no progress in negotiations on a ceasefire.

On Thursday, secretary of state Marco Rubio said that either there would need to be a breakthrough towards peace “very soon” or Mr Trump would have to decide how much time the US would dedicate to the conflict.

“This is not our war,” he said.