Russia-Ukraine war: London ceasefire talks downgraded
www.bbc.com
3 min read
fairly difficult
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff are no longer attending the talks.
Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks in London downgraded Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has ruled out recognising occupied Crimea as Russian territory, after reports suggested this could be discussed at the talks. Trump's Ukraine envoy, Gen Keith Kellogg, is attending the talks instead of Rubio and Witkoff. The meeting on Wednesday will instead take place among senior officials from the UK, France, Germany, Ukraine, and the US, while UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy will host a bilateral meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart. London talks aimed at securing a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia have been downgraded and will no longer include US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff. This comes amid growing speculation that Russia might be willing to halt its invasion along current front lines in return for significant concessions. The pace of diplomatic efforts to end the war is quickening but there is little clarity about where they are heading or whether they will succeed. On Tuesday evening, Rubio spoke to Lammy about what he hoped would be "substantive and good technical meetings". Lammy himself called the conversation "productive", taking place ahead of a "critical moment for Ukraine, Britain and Euro-Atlantic Security" as "talks continue at pace". The US secretary of…