London meeting on Ukraine: What's next for talks after Rubio's boycott?
Photo: Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and the head of the OP Andriy Yermak (Getty Images)
The Ukrainian delegation is on its way to a meeting in London that was scheduled to take place today, April 23. Ukraine is ready for the talks, despite the fact that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will miss the meeting, says RBC-Ukraine source.
“Our delegation is on its way to the meeting, the meeting was planned for the middle of the day, its organizers are the British, and it was London that gathered everyone. They promised the presence of Ukraine, America, France, Germany and Britain, we are ready for negotiations,” the source said.
The source emphasizes that if Rubio skips the meeting in London, it is clear that there can be no format with him. But the Ukrainian team is ready “for all formats and all conversations.”
The meeting in London
On April 23, representatives of Ukraine, Britain, the United States, France, and Germany are to meet in London to discuss the settlement of the war. Ukraine believed that the meeting in London would discuss a comprehensive ceasefire.
Ukraine is represented at the meeting by the head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, and Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Pavlo Palisa.
The day before the meeting, Western media reported that the United States planned to present its peace plan in London. It includes a clause on freezing the front line, recognizing Crimea as Russian, Ukraine's rejection of NATO.
Speaking to journalists on April 22, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine does not recognize the occupied territories as part of Russia.
Rubio ignored the talks
On the eve of the meeting in London, the US announced that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would skip it. Instead, the US president's envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, traveled to Britain.
CNN cited a source saying that Rubio was boycotting the talks in London because Zelenskyy had refused a key US proposal to recognize Crimea as Russian.
This morning, Sky News reported that the meeting of the foreign ministers of the five countries in London has been postponed. The talks will be held at the level of senior officials.
