US Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed on Friday that he had met with an envoy for President Vladimir Putin this week and sent him back to Moscow with a message: the clock is ticking on when there needs to be a breakthrough in the peace talks to end the Ukraine war.

The Trump administration says it will soon be clear if Russia's Vladimir Putin really wants a peace deal in Ukraine, as France and Britain accuse him of playing for time.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The ball regarding a Ukraine ceasefire is in the Russian court, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Friday after meeting with NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.

The U.S. visit is the first by a senior Kremlin official since Russia’s 2022 Ukraine invasion.

Britain and France have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet over Ukraine ceasefire talks and ramped up pressure on Moscow by insisting that he owes the United States an immediate answer.

Britain and France on Friday accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet in ceasefire talks and demanded a swift response from Moscow after weeks of U.S. efforts to secure a

Russia was notably absent from the sweeping tariffs that U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday, which are set to affect almost the entire world. The White House said sanctions imposed on Moscow because of Russian President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine had already ensured that there was no meaningful trade between the countries.

According to the Russian independent portal Meduza, Donald Trump did not impose tariffs on Russia to avoid tensions related to talks about ending the war in Ukraine. However, it was mentioned that Moscow might also face a separate decree.