Stood Up: High-Level Ukraine Peace Talks Halted After US Withdrawal

High-level Ukraine peace talks scheduled to take place in London on Wednesday were postponed when European diplomats canceled following a withdrawal by top US officials from the meeting, the Washington Post reported. 

The cancelation of the high-level talks – lower-level meetings continued – follows US anger in Washington over Ukraine’s refusal to accept proposals to cede territory to Russia and its preference to discuss a complete ceasefire first, the newspaper added. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy firmly rejected a proposal from the US suggesting that the US might officially recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea in return for a Russian halt to the fighting. Another possible concession US negotiators presented to Ukraine was for it to make a firm renunciation of Ukraine’s desire to join NATO. 

Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine will not recognize Crimea as a Russian territory – it would violate the country’s constitution. However, the US proposal only referred to US recognition of Crimea. In this scenario, US sanctions on Russia would also be lifted. 

US President Donald Trump, who clashed with Zelenskiy in an Oval Office meeting in March, called this an inflammatory statement that made peace harder to achieve, adding in a social media post that Crimea was lost years ago “and is not even a point of discussion.” 

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters Trump is “frustrated” with the pace of talks and that Zelenskiy “seems to be moving in the wrong direction,” according to Reuters.

Europeans, meanwhile, saw the cancellation by US representatives, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as a sign that the US is looking to extricate itself from involvement in the war, downgrading the meeting, and undermining ongoing peace efforts, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported. 

“It’s the US one step further toward checking out,” one European diplomat told RFE/RL. A US State Department spokeswoman, however, said Rubio’s decision was logistical and should not be interpreted as a position on the negotiations. 

Separately, US Vice President JD Vance told reporters that the US had proposed a deal to Russia and Ukraine: “It’s time for them to either say yes or for the United States to walk away from this process.” 

Meanwhile, Steve Witkoff, a US special envoy involved in the peace negotiations, will fly to Moscow this week, according to Russian sources. 

Rubio, who canceled his London travel plans at the last minute, said on X that the special envoy to Ukraine and Europe, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, will represent the US, and hopes another high-level meeting could take place “in the coming months.” 

The Ukrainian delegation arrived in London, ready to work for peace – “despite everything.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, said this week he was open to talks with his Ukrainian counterpart, according to the BBC.