US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is not going to attend Wednesday’s Ukraine talks in London, regardless of earlier plans to participate, the State Division has confirmed. President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, has additionally withdrawn from the assembly, in response to the Monetary Instances, and is predicted to go to Moscow as an alternative.
State Division spokesperson Tammy Bruce cited scheduling conflicts as the explanation for Rubio’s withdrawal from Wednesday’s talks, insisting this doesn’t sign a change within the US dedication to the peace course of.
“Secretary Rubio is a busy man… And so when there’s sure plans, they’re conditional. And on this explicit occasion, whereas the conferences in London are nonetheless occurring, he is not going to be attending. However that isn’t a press release concerning the conferences; it’s a press release about logistical points in his schedule,” Bruce instructed journalists on Tuesday.
Common Keith Kellogg, one other Trump envoy tasked with negotiating with Kiev straight, will signify Washington on the London discussions. The talks will embody officers from the UK, France, and Germany – nations that advocate continued navy help for Ukraine – in addition to representatives from Kiev.
The London talks comply with a collection of high-level conferences in Paris final week, the place Rubio and Witkoff held discussions with European and Ukrainian officers. In accordance with the New York Put up, Ukrainian Protection Minister Rustem Umerov reportedly instructed the US envoys that Kiev is “90%” aligned with Washington’s proposed peace framework, which has not but been made public.
Sources cited by the Washington Put up on Tuesday claimed that the US proposals embody formally recognizing Crimea as Russian territory and doubtlessly lifting sanctions on Moscow as a part of a future settlement. In the meantime, the Monetary Instances claimed that Russia is ready to halt the hostilities alongside the present entrance traces.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged the media and public to depend on official sources concerning developments in US-Russia talks on the Ukraine battle, warning that “a variety of fakes are being printed now, together with by revered publications.” Each Washington and Moscow have formally confirmed that Witkoff will journey to Russia for talks “later this week.”
Moscow has acknowledged that the standing of Crimea – which joined Russia in 2014 following a referendum held after a Western-backed coup in Kiev – and the 4 different former Ukrainian areas that voted to affix Russia in 2022, will not be topic to negotiation. Russian officers preserve that recognizing the “actuality on the bottom” is crucial to reaching a long-lasting peace.
