The development comes after President Donald Trump reportedly floated a plan that would see the US recognize Crimea as part of Russia.
A planned high-level meeting in London to discuss the Ukraine conflict has been downgraded after several key European ministers withdrew from the talks. The development comes after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio signalled he would not be present.
The meeting, initially set for Wednesday, was due to include top diplomats from the UK, the US, France, Germany, and Ukraine. However, the sit-down has been postponed and the discussions will now proceed at the level of officials, the UK Foreign Office has confirmed to AFP.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga is still expected to hold a bilateral meeting with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, according to Sky News.
The US State Department earlier confirmed that Rubio would not attend the talks, citing scheduling conflicts. “That is not a statement regarding the meetings; it’s a statement about logistical issues in his schedule,” spokesperson Tammy Bruce said on Tuesday.
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, will also not be present and is expected to visit Moscow this week. The US side will instead be represented in London by presidential envoy Keith Kellogg.
Trump recently floated what was described as a “final offer” to resolve the Ukraine conflict. The proposal would reportedly include “de jure” US recognition of Crimea as part of Russia and unofficial recognition of Moscow’s “de facto” control over the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics, as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions. The plan is also said to include the lifting of certain sanctions against Russia and opposition to NATO membership for Ukraine.
Crimea and four other regions overwhelmingly voted to join Russia in referendums in 2014 and 2022, respectively. However, Kiev has refused to accept the results of the vote.
A Financial Times report has claimed that Moscow would be ready to freeze hostilities with Ukraine along the current front lines. Commenting on the report, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov remarked that “a lot of fakes are being published now,” calling for people to rely only on “the primary sources” of information.
Image credit: Getty Images
Crimea had previously been part of Russia for several centuries. It was temporarily transferred to Ukraine in the 1950s during the Soviet experiment.
Well that’s great. We can all put our weapons away and go home for tea.
That is except for the dead sons and the people from wrecked countries.
Perhaps this is the reason – from The Independent newspaper …
But Zelenski bailed out and the proposed meeting fell apart. According to the Independent Zelenski had feared to be “ambushed”:
Actor turned statesman Volodymyr Zelensky may have only ever played a soldier, but as a war time leader he knows an ambush when he sees one.
Having been trapped in the Oval Office and eviscerated by Donald Trump and JD Vance, he has avoided an enfilade from a crack team of American diplomats in the London kill zone by not turning up at all.
Tipped off that his intended target was not going to wander into his sights, the US team leader, secretary of state Marco Rubio, called off the operation altogether and stayed in Washington along with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s envoy to Vladimir Putin.
Keith Kellog, Trump’s envoy to Ukraine, who was already in London, has been left to observe peering through the privet while foreign secretary David Lammy squires the Ukrainian foreign minister for much downgraded “talks”.
At least the British hosts were not saddled with what could have been an historic mess in which Zelensky was presented with a US-Russian ultimatum and then painted as a rejectionist war monger when he said “nemaye” (no).
?MSM.. “news” … from the “Independent?”
Hmm. I think not. Nothing out of MSM UK is worth a cent…no different from any other place and its globalist aligned / directed State “media.”
Did ” the indepentent” published that already 1.2 millions service men already died in Ukraine ? Not counting the maimed for life.
Not counting either human trafficking among whom thousands of children who have completely disappeard
Not counting a flourishing organs traficking enriching who do you think ?
And that the little ukrainian crook should search for a peace a.s.a.p. and that mr starmer should have more pressing matter awaiting him at home. Considering the UK is very near total bankrupcy.