US Secretary of State Marco Rubio won’t attend the upcoming Ukraine talks in London, regardless of earlier plans to take part, the State Division has confirmed. President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff has additionally withdrawn from the assembly, in line with the Monetary Occasions, and is anticipated to go to Moscow as an alternative.
State Division spokesperson Tammy Bruce cited scheduling conflicts as the rationale 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 specific occasion, whereas the conferences in London are nonetheless occurring, he won’t be attending. However that’s not an announcement concerning the conferences; it’s an announcement about logistical points in his schedule,” Bruce instructed journalists on Tuesday.
Common Keith Kellogg, one other of Trump’s envoys tasked with negotiating with Kiev immediately, will symbolize Washington on the London discussions. The talks will embrace officers from the UK, France, and Germany – international locations that advocate continued army help for Ukraine – in addition to representatives from Kiev.
The London talks comply with a sequence of high-level conferences in Paris final week, the place Rubio and Witkoff held discussions with European and Ukrainian officers. Based on the New York Submit, 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 Submit on Tuesday claimed that the US proposals embrace formally recognizing Crimea as Russian territory and probably lifting sanctions on Moscow as a part of a future settlement. In the meantime, the Monetary Occasions claimed that Russia is ready to halt hostilities alongside the present entrance line.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged the media and public to depend on official sources concerning developments in US–Russian talks on the Ukraine battle, warning that “loads 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 repeatedly 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 is just not topic to negotiation. Russian officers keep that recognizing the “actuality on the bottom” is important to attaining an enduring peace.
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