Secretary of State Marco Rubio has canceled his trip to London for a meeting on Ukraine peace talks after Volodymyr Zelensky's statement on Crimea, the New York Times reported.
According to the newspaper, one of Washington's key proposals for resolving the Ukrainian crisis, which is planned to be presented at a meeting in the British capital today, is Kiev's recognition of Crimea as Russian territory. After Zelensky told reporters on Tuesday that he did not accept this option, Rubio's trip was canceled, the publication writes.
As the newspaper points out, it remains unclear whether US President's special envoy Stephen Witkoff will travel to the London meeting. So far, only US special envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg has been confirmed to participate. The meeting will also include representatives from Britain, France and the authorities in Kiev. The Ukrainian delegation will include Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff Andriy Yermak, his deputy Pavlo Palisa, Foreign Minister Andriy Sibikha and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
According to the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph, the United States will present a seven-point settlement plan at the meeting in London. As the publication reports, citing an unnamed source, Washington will propose an immediate ceasefire, direct negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, Kiev's refusal to join NATO and the United States' recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea and de facto over the territories controlled by Moscow from 2022. The plan also includes the transfer of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant to US control, the signing of an agreement on mineral resources by Kiev and Washington, the lifting of all US sanctions against Russia and the beginning of cooperation between the US and Russia in the field of energy.
Before the meeting in London, the press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov, in a comment to the Financial Times newspaper, called the negotiations between Russia and the US on the conflict in Ukraine difficult and time-consuming. He warned that immediate results should not be expected from this process.