Talks between the US, Europe and Ukraine collapse due to Marco Rubio
23 April 13:45
The British Foreign Office has confirmed that ministerial-level peace talks on the war in Ukraine with counterparts from the United States and Europe, which were to take place today, have been postponed after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he could not attend. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to The Guardian.
In a brief statement, the British Foreign Office said that “the ministerial meetings, which were due to begin this morning, will now not take place and will be replaced by behind-the-scenes discussions held by officials.” This clarifies a statement made late in the evening by British Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
In a post on social media shortly before midnight, Lammy said that his discussions with Rubio had been productive, but hinted that they would be held at a slightly lower level.
“Talks are continuing at the same pace and officials will meet in London on Wednesday. This is a critical moment for Ukraine, the UK and Euro-Atlantic security,” he wrote.
The UK had been paying great attention to the talks, which were also to be attended by delegations from France and Germany, but the level of discussion dropped after a leak showed that “Russia is prepared to give up its territorial claims to three Ukrainian regions it has only partially occupied in exchange for US recognition of the annexation of Crimea,” the newspaper writes.
In turn, Rubio said that he would “postpone his trip to the UK for the coming months.”
Today, the head of the Presidential Administration, Andriy Yermak, arrived in London accompanied by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andriy Sibiga.
In a series of posts on social media, Yermak said that “no matter what, we will work for peace.”
“Today we will talk about ways to achieve a complete and unconditional ceasefire as the first step towards a full-fledged settlement process and a just and sustainable peace.”
Position of the White House (USA)
The Washington Post, citing its own sources, writes that at the talks in London on April 23, the Ukrainian and European delegations will face a US proposal to recognize Crimea as Russian territory and freeze the front line.
The newspaper informs that the proposal was submitted by the US side to the European Union and Ukraine during talks in Paris on April 17.
For his part, US President Donald Trump expressed hope earlier this week that Russia and Ukraine would reach an agreement in the near future.
“I hope that Russia and Ukraine will reach an agreement this week. After that, both countries will start doing big business with the U.S., which is booming, and make a fortune,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
By the way, on April 22, it became known that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio would not go to London to participate in the ceasefire talks in Ukraine on Wednesday. This was stated by Tammy Bruce, Chief of Staff at the US State Department.
“Secretary Rubio is a very busy man, he’s one of the most active, if not the most active secretary of state we’ve ever had, and it certainly affects him every day. And when you have certain plans, they are conditional. And in this particular case, as long as the meetings in London are ongoing, he will not be there,” Bruce said.
She added that special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg, who oversees Washington’s contacts with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian leadership, will take part in the talks in the British capital.
What official Kyiv says
Speaking to journalists on April 22, President Zelenskyy said that the Ukrainian side had not received any messages regarding the exchange or abandonment of certain occupied territories, only signals through the media.
He also said that Ukraine would never legally recognize Crimea as Russian.
“There is nothing to talk about. This is outside our Constitution. This is our territory, the territory of the people of Ukraine. It will not be,” the president emphasized.
In addition, Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine is ready to agree to an unconditional ceasefire and continue to participate in negotiations on a lasting peace in any format.
“If the Russians are not just ready for a ceasefire tomorrow, but if they cease fire, we are ready to sit down for talks and move on to other steps to end the war. If at least something is done in fact, and not just talk,” Zelensky said.
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