The top diplomats from the UK, US, France, Germany and Ukraine have postponed a plan to meet in London on Wednesday for high-level talks on how to end Russia’s war.
Discussions will instead take place among senior officials from the five nations, though the Ukrainian foreign minister is also still due to be in the capital and will hold a bilateral meeting with David Lammy, it is understood.
The downgrading in the level of diplomacy is in contrast with an intensification in the pressure from Donald Trump and his team for Kyiv and Moscow to agree a ceasefire.
A US peace proposal that is due to be discussed in London would see the United States recognise Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea – something rejected by Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday.
The plan, reported by US media at the weekend, also freezes the frontlines as part of a peace agreement.
Ukraine’s allies are hoping to receive security guarantees and reconstruction projects in exchange for any such territorial concessions, it was reported.
The Financial Times claimed that Vladimir Putin has also offered to halt his invasion along the current front lines, which would leave about 20 per cent of Ukraine in Russia’s hands. It is unclear whether Kyiv would accept such terms.
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The US President, who came into office saying he would quickly secure an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, is now warning he will “take a pass” on brokering peace talks if Kyiv and Moscow “make it difficult” to reach a deal.
Marco Rubio, his Secretary of State, also said last week that Washington would abandon talks unless there is progress within days.
Mr Rubio had been due to come to London to meet Mr Lammy and the foreign ministers of Ukraine, France and Germany – but it emerged on Tuesday that he would no longer be travelling.
Once that happened, Paris and Berlin also seemingly halted their ministers’ respective travel plans. It is understood that the hope is that the meeting at ministerial level will still take place soon.
Instead, Keith Kellogg, the US envoy for Ukraine, will take part in discussions in London with senior French and German officials.
The UK and France are leading efforts to ensure Europe is not sidelined by Mr Trump in the push for peace in Ukraine.
They have also been attempting to assemble a “coalition of the willing” to send British, French and other foreign forces into Ukraine in the wake of any ceasefire to help secure the peace – though defence experts have questioned the credibility of such a plan without the backing of the US and its much larger military.
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Instead of meeting in person, Mr Lammy had a phone call with Mr Rubio on Tuesday, which he called “productive” in a post on the social media site X.
“The UK is working with the US, Ukraine and Europe for peace and to put an end to Putin’s illegal invasion,” he wrote.
“Talks continue at pace and officials will meet in London tomorrow [Wednesday]. This is a critical moment for Ukraine, Britain and Euro-Atlantic security.”
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Mr Rubio posted a similar message: “Today I had a productive conversation with UK Foreign Secretary @DavidLammy. I extended my gratitude for hosting the US delegation, led by Special Presidential Envoy @SPE_Kellogg. Our team is looking forward to substantive and good technical meetings with Ukrainian and UK counterparts.
“I look forward to following up after the ongoing discussions in London and rescheduling my trip to the UK in the coming months.”
