UKRAINE peace talks have been downgraded in London as Kyiv looks set to reject a United States plan to recognise Crimea as Russian.
While there was initially meant to be a high-level meeting of ministers, it is now only senior officials from the UK, US, France, Germany and Ukraine who will take part.
It comes after US secretary of state Marco Rubio pulled out of the meeting. The US will now be represented by Donald Trump's envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy will not attend either, although he will still hold a separate meeting with the Ukrainian foreign minister.
The US state department blamed a scheduling issue for Rubio’s absence, but it suggests the chances of a breakthrough in London are limited.
Meanwhile, Steve Witkoff – a Trump envoy who has been deeply involved in negotiations – is set to return to Moscow this week.
Ukraine could be forced to swallow a bitter pill under terms being ironed out between the US and Russia, according to the Financial Times (FT).
Russian president Vladimir Putin has offered to halt his invasion of Ukraine across its current front lines, the newspaper reported.
Among the ideas floated by the US for the settlement are Moscow’s continued control of occupied Ukrainian regions, and US recognition that Russia owns the Crimean peninsula, the FT said.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is unlikely to accept the surrender of Crimea and called for an unconditional ceasefire as the first step to negotiations to end the war.
“If we are ready for an unconditional ceasefire – it means silence at sea, in the air, and at the front, on the ground – Ukraine is ready to take the relevant steps,” he told reporters on Tuesday night.
Ahead of Wednesday’s talks, Lammy said he had a “productive call” with Rubio.
He said: “The UK is working with the US, Ukraine and Europe to put an end to Putin’s illegal invasion.”
Rubio said the US delegation – now without him – was “looking forward to substantive and good technical meetings with Ukrainian and UK counterparts” and indicated he would be “rescheduling my trip to the UK in the coming months”.
