Ukraine peace talks stalled as top diplomats withdraw
The British Foreign Office stated that "the Ukraine Peace Talks meeting with Foreign Ministers today is being postponed. Official level talks will continue but these are closed to media."
On Wednesday, a meeting was to be held in London with the foreign ministers of the US, UK, France, and Germany, along with representatives from Ukraine. After U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the British Foreign Minister withdrew from participating, the meeting was cancelled.
According to the British Foreign Office, talks with Ukrainian representatives will be conducted today, but at a lower level and closed to the media.
A meeting involving the heads of diplomacy is to be held at another date.
Was the Crimea issue the deciding factor?
As reported by "The Guardian," the UK attached great importance to the meeting planned for Wednesday, which was also to include delegations from France and Germany. However, the discussions were downgraded after leaks suggested that Russia might be willing to give up its territorial claims over three regions of Ukraine it only partially occupies, in exchange for U.S. recognition of Crimea's annexation.
Let us recall that earlier this week, American media, including Axios and "The Wall Street Journal," reported that the United States was expecting a response from Ukraine on Wednesday to a framework peace proposal that includes unofficial recognition of Russian control over nearly all occupied areas, including Crimea.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reacted almost immediately. Ukraine does not recognize the annexation of Crimea; it is inconsistent with our Constitution, stated Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday, as quoted by Channel 24.
