U.S. says Paris talks on Ukraine ongoing; Rome meeting set for Saturday

State Department spokesperson Tammy said U.S. envoys were in Paris on a diplomatic push aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war and confirmed a follow-up meeting will take place in Rome on Saturday.

Tammy said the delegation includes ‘‘Secretary Marco Rubio, Ambassador Steve Witkoff, and Special Presidential Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg,’’ and that the visits ‘‘aim[] to advance the shared interests and restore stability to the region.’’

Why it matters: The briefing framed the Paris talks as a potentially pivotal moment for ceasefire negotiations. The United States signaled it expects measurable results on a timeline of "weeks," and emphasized it will evaluate other parties ‘‘based on their actions, not their words.’’

Tammy offered limited operational detail about the talks, saying negotiators meet face to face to determine substantive steps and that rapidly changing developments could alter timetables. ‘‘We will judge people based on their actions, not their words,’’ she said, repeating the administration’s stated standard for evaluating progress.

Reporters pressed for specifics about metrics and whether Russia had rejected prior proposals; Tammy declined to discuss private negotiation details and said she was not ‘‘privy’’ to all conversations. She confirmed that Paris discussions also touched on Iran and that brief public statements from partners—she cited France as calling the talks "positive, constructive"—do not replace the U.S. standard of judging results by concrete outcomes.

The briefing also noted concurrent U.S. technical talks with Ukraine on an economic mechanism: Tammy said, "On April, U.S. and Ukraine technical teams conducted constructive negotiations on the proposed Reconstruction Investment Fund" and that discussions to finalize the agreement would continue. She described the fund as intended to provide economic guarantees tied to bringing the conflict to a peaceful end.

Tammy declined to provide a play-by-play timeline, saying statements from the delegation or the president would follow when negotiators had confirmations to announce. She reiterated the administration’s preference for direct diplomacy and said the president and secretary have set a clear ‘‘bright red line’’ that Iran must not obtain a nuclear weapon, while the measures for judging other agreements were for negotiators to define.

The State Department said it expected further statements as talks evolve and urged patience while negotiators returned with results.