U.S. shifts focus as peace hopes fade, seals resource deal with Ukraine

- The U.S. will cease its attempts to negotiate a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia in the following days if there is no signal that an agreement is reachable - announced U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday in Paris.

Rubio, who met in Paris with leaders from France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine, noted that U.S. President Donald Trump still cares about reaching an agreement, but he also has many "other priorities" worldwide and will move on to other matters if there are no signs of progress.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Ukraine and the United States virtually signed a letter of intent regarding the extraction of Ukrainian resources by Americans. Julia Svyrydenko, Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister, announced that a letter of intent was signed with the USA concerning the exploitation of Ukrainian mineral deposits. "We are happy to announce the signing, with our American partners, of a Memorandum of Intent, which paves the way for an Economic Partnership Agreement and the establishment of the Investment Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine" - wrote Svyrydenko on platform X.

Rubio's words contradict what Steve Witkoff, a special envoy for the Middle East, said. A few days ago, in an interview on Fox News, he assessed that he "finally" got an answer to Russian President Vladimir Putin's demands for peace

A week ago, Witkoff talked with Putin and his advisors for about four hours in St. Petersburg. Witkoff did not reveal what Putin demanded, but he stated that the peace agreement primarily concerns "the five territories" - regions of Ukraine annexed by Russia - but also many other matters.

Witkoff also added that "I believe there's a possibility to reshape the Russian-United States relationship through some very compelling commercial opportunities that I think give real stability to the region toon."