London meeting fails to build bridge between USA, Ukraine, Russia and EU

A meeting between foreign ministers of five countries – including Ukraine and the United States – was scheduled to take place in London, but it was canceled. According to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, Kyiv and Washington were unable to "narrow differences on certain issues.”

"The London meeting was indeed intended for envoys from the U.S. and Ukraine so that the U.S. could continue its mediation efforts. As far as we understand, they were not able to bridge their differences on certain matters, and so the meeting did not take place,” Peskov said.

Moscow continues its contacts with Washington regarding the peace process, Peskov added. However, there are currently no talks with Europe or Ukraine, although Russia remains open to such dialogue.

The London meeting had been scheduled for April 23. It was expected to take place at the level of foreign ministers from the U.S., Ukraine, the UK, France, and Germany. However, the meeting in that format was ultimately canceled.

Despite this, Ukraine's delegation still arrived in London. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha met with his British counterpart David Lammy, whereas Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov held talks with his UK counterpart John Healey, Suspilne publication said.

According to the UK Foreign Office and AFP, the high-level ministerial talks originally scheduled for April 23 have been postponed, but a meeting at a lower diplomatic level will still take place.

London meeting postponed as Marco Rubio cancels visit to UK

Sky News reported that the foreign ministers of the UK, France, and Germany postponed their participation after learning that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had canceled his trip to London. Former National Security Advisor Keith Kellogg, now serving as a special envoy for President Trump, will represent the American side instead.

The New York Times noted that Rubio made the decision to cancel his visit after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukraine would not legally recognize Crimea as part of Russia.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson told the NYT that Rubio's cancellation was not related to the meetings themselves but was "a matter of scheduling logistics.”

Previously, The Washington Post reported that the U.S. intended to propose, during the London talks, that Ukraine and European countries recognize Crimea as Russian territory and freeze the current front lines as part of a broader peace agreement.

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London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of 8,866,180 in 2022. Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Thames in southeast England, at the head of a 50-mile (80 km) tidal estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for nearly 2,000 years. Its ancient core and financial centre, the City of London, was founded by the Romans as Londinium and has retained its medieval boundaries. The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has been the centuries-long host of the national government and parliament. London grew rapidly in the 19th century, becoming the world's largest city at the time. Since the 19th century, the name "London" has referred to the metropolis around the City of London, historically split between the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which since 1965 has largely comprised the administrative area of Greater London, governed by 33 local authorities and the Greater London Authority.