London/Paris, April 23 – Conversations between the US, Ukraine and European officials to discuss the end of the Russian war in Ukraine hesitated Wednesday when the United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, abruptly canceled his trip to London and negotiations.
Rubios No Show promoted a broader meeting of Foreign Ministers of Ukraine, Great Britain, France and Germany to be canceled, Althegh conversations continued at a lower level. The United States would now be represented by the general envoy of Ukraine Keith Kellogg.
The degradation of conversations occurs at a critical moment, a few days after the president of the United States, Donald Trump warned that Washington could move away if there was no progress in an agreement soon. Trump increased the pressure on Sunday when he said he expected Moscow and Kyiv to make an agreement this week to finish the three -year war.
A European official said Rubio had indicated to his British hosts concerns that Ukraine could be able to his most difficult positions, which makes any advance in conversations impossible.
Rubio spoke with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Tuesday night and said he hoped to reschedule his trip in the coming months after the “technical meetings” on Wednesday.
Speaking upon his arrival in London with the ministers of foreigners and defense, the Ukrainian presidential advisor Andriy Yermak said that the conversations would focus on ways of achieving a high and unconditional fire as a first step for peace.
“In spite of everything, we will work for peace,” he said on social networks.
The meeting is a similar session in Paris last week, where US, Ukrainian and European officials discussed ways of advancing and close positions.
Duration of these conversations, Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, presented an article to the participants describing proposals in which Ukraine in particular, but also Russia, would need to make concessions, according to three conscious diplomats of the conversations.
Diplomats differed on whether the position was a firm position from the United States or a starting point to work with Ukraine and its British, French and German allies to formulate a joint position before taking it to Russia.
Difficult proposals
Some of Washington’s proposals were unacceptable to European countries and kyiv, they said multiple sources, leaving the divided sides, but still optimistic that they could reach a commitment.
France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Tuesday that Europeans had detailed to the United States what they consider the non-negotiable aspects of a possible Peace Agreement of Ukraine-Russia.
Last week, Rubio said that the American framework that he and Witkoff propose in Paris received an encouraging reception.
But the sources said that among the US proposals. It recognized the illegal annexation of Crimea de Russia, a measure that was not a beginning for Europe and Ukraine.
Ukraine and Europeans would also need to accept the reality of Russia’s control over the soaking of 20% of the Ukraine territory.
In addition, NATO membership for Ukraine and the United States would be ruled out would begin to eliminate sanctions to Russia.
London’s conversations aimed to work to close the differences and find areas that could satisfy Moscow and open a serious negotiation, the diplomats said.
Beyond Crimea, other important conflict points remain, including Russia’s impulse to lift the sanctions of the European Union against him before negotiations are finished, which Europe firmly opposes, diplomats said.
Washington proposes last week to establish a neutral zone at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Russian Cup Ukraine, according to European diplomats. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Tuesday that he would be ready to partner with the United States to restart the plant.
It is likely that some of Washington’s ideas also dislike Moscow. Two diplomats said that the United States was not pressing a Russian demand to Demilitarium Ukraine and did not oppose a European force as part of future security guarantees for Ukraine.
Witkoff had not been part of London’s conversations. But, on the parallel path of Washington diplomacy with Moscow, he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week in Russia, said the White House.
Since he assumed the position in January, Trump has overturned the foreign policy of the United States, pressing Ukraine to accept the fire while facilitating many of the measures that the Biden Administration had taken to punish Russia for its large -scale invasion of 2022.
The president of the United States has repeatedly said that a fire in Ukraine must negotiate for May, arguing that the United States must end a conflict that has killed tens of thousands and risk a direct confrontation between the United States and nuclear tidy.