Ukraine peace talks hit a snag as ministers withdraw
The British Foreign Office stated that "the Ukraine Peace Talks meeting with Foreign Ministers today is being postponed. Official level talks will continue but these are closed to media."
On Wednesday, a meeting was scheduled to take place in London with the foreign ministers of the US, UK, France, and Germany, along with representatives from Ukraine. After U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the British Foreign Minister withdrew from participation, the meeting was canceled.
According to the British Foreign Office, talks with Ukrainian representatives will occur today, but at a lower level and closed to the media.
A meeting involving the heads of diplomacy is to be held at a later date.
Was the Crimea issue the deciding factor?
As reported by "The Guardian," the UK placed significant importance on the meeting planned for Wednesday, which was also to include delegations from France and Germany. However, the discussions were downgraded after leaks suggested that Russia might be willing to relinquish its territorial claims over three regions of Ukraine it only partially occupies, in exchange for U.S. recognition of Crimea's annexation.
Earlier this week, American media, including Axios and "The Wall Street Journal," reported that the United States was expecting a response from Ukraine on Wednesday to a framework peace proposal that includes unofficial recognition of Russian control over nearly all occupied areas, including Crimea.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reacted almost immediately. Ukraine does not recognize the annexation of Crimea; it is inconsistent with our Constitution, stated Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday, as quoted by Channel 24.
