U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. would “move on” if a way to end the war in Ukraine can’t be found soon — as Russia said a one-month pause on targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure had ended.

“We need to figure out here now, within a matter of days, whether this is doable in the short term. Because if it’s not, then I think we’re just going to move on,” Rubio told reporters at Le Bourget airport outside of Paris on Friday morning, according to a transcript provided by the State Department.

His comments followed a meeting of U.S. officials — including Rubio and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff — with representatives from France, Germany and the UK in Paris on Thursday, where the U.S. indicated its aim was to secure a full ceasefire in Ukraine within weeks, according to people familiar.

Rubio also said the European nations could help “move the ball” to get a resolution and that their ideas had been “very helpful and constructive.”

“We had a good meeting yesterday,” he added. “But this isn’t going to go on forever.” The war in Ukraine, now well into its fourth year, “has no military solution to it,” Rubio said. “Neither side has some strategic capability to end this war quickly.”

President Donald Trump, who predicted on the campaign trail that he could quickly secure a ceasefire, hits the 100-day mark of his second stint in the White House on April 30.

Trump “has dedicated a lot of time and energy to this, and there are a lot of things going on in the world right now that we need to be focused on,” Rubio told reporters. “There are a lot of other really important things going on that deserve just as much if not more attention.”

Thursday’s talks in Paris also included a meeting between Witkoff and French President Emmanuel Macron and were attended by Ukrainian officials.

U.S. officials indicated they expected to make significant progress soon, and the participants agreed to work toward that, said the people familiar. National security advisers and negotiators from Germany, France, the U.S. and the UK plan to gather again in London next week to follow up on their discussions.

The meetings came almost a week after Witkoff traveled to St. Petersburg, where he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin for almost five hours. He described the conversation as “compelling,” saying they discussed steps that could end the war and perhaps lead to business opportunities for Russia as well.

European officials have attempted to influence the outcome of peace efforts kicked off by the Trump administration, especially after being sidelined during recent bilateral talks between Russia and the U.S.

Trump has expressed frustration at the pace of negotiations with Russia, which has so far declined to accept his proposal for a truce in Ukraine as a starting-point for broader peace talks. But the U.S. leader has also at times blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for the war that began with Russia’s invasion in 2022.

On Friday, the Kremlin said an order to pause strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure for 30 days had expired, with no updated instructions in place.

“The month has indeed expired,” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the Interfax news agency. “At the present time there have been no other instructions from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.”

Putin agreed to limit attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure for 30 days during a March 18 phone call with President Donald Trump, an outcome that fell well short of the White House’s aim for a total halt to the fighting over that same timeframe.

Kyiv and Moscow each accused the other of breaking the accord, though the month passed without a strike on any of Russia’s major refineries, and many of the alleged violations were related to transformers and power lines.

As of early April, Russia’s refinery runs were on track to reach a four-month high thanks to an absence of the drone attacks.

Kremlin forces have stepped up strikes on other targets in recent weeks, including deadly missile attacks on civilians in Kryvih Rih, Zelenskiy’s home town, and Sumy in Ukraine’s northeast.

Separately, Trump told reporters on Thursday that a deal on critical minerals that he’s demanded with Ukraine is expected to be signed on April 24.

His comments suggests both sides have agreed to the contours of an accord governing postwar plans to exploit Ukraine’s mineral deposits and rebuild its infrastructure.

The deal would grant the U.S. first claim on profits transferred into a special reconstruction investment fund to be controlled by Washington. In negotiations, Kyiv has pressed for better terms and refused to recognize past U.S. assistance as debt.

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—With assistance from Greg Sullivan.

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