Negotiations in London on Ukrainian conflict postponed

Negotiations in London aimed at resolving the Ukrainian conflict at the level of foreign ministers have been postponed and will instead proceed at an expert level. This was announced by the British Foreign Office, as reported by TASS.

"The meeting dedicated to peace talks concerning Ukraine, which was to include foreign ministers, has been postponed. However, discussions among official representatives from the countries involved will continue, albeit closed to the press," stated a spokesperson from the British Foreign Ministry, as quoted by The Guardian.

The UK government has confirmed that the peace negotiations involving foreign ministers will be delayed, but that meetings at a lower official level will still take place, according to AFP.

Previously, Sky News reported that the foreign ministers of the UK, France, and Germany postponed their planned meeting on April 23 regarding Ukraine after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio declined to attend in London. Instead, negotiations among officials from the five countries will occur.

Tammy Bruce, the official spokesperson for the State Department, noted, as reported by RIA Novosti, that the only U.S. representative in London would be special envoy Kit Kellogg from the Trump administration, as Rubio and Steve Witkoff would not participate in the talks.

According to The New York Times, Rubio canceled his trip to the UK capital for the peace talks following statements made by Vladimir Zelensky regarding Crimea. It was highlighted that one of Washington's key proposals for resolving the Ukrainian crisis involved Kiev's recognition of Crimea as Russian territory. However, after Zelensky's remarks on April 22 rejected such an option, Rubio's trip to the negotiations in the UK was called off.

As noted by the publication Strana, Ukraine did not lower the level of its delegation for the London negotiations, despite the withdrawal of Secretary of State Rubio and the foreign ministers of the UK, France, and Germany from participation.

The British newspaper The Telegraph reported that the U.S. was expected to present a seven-point plan for resolution at the meeting in London, which included recognition by the United States of Russian sovereignty over Crimea.

Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, announced that U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff would be traveling to Russia this week for discussions aimed at concluding the crisis in Ukraine.