Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Evgeniya Kondakova
[REGNUM] The meeting in London was supposed to be a moment of truth: would Europe and, most importantly, Ukraine accept the plan for resolving the conflict drawn up by the United States? But these hopes were not destined to come true. Everything went wrong from the very beginning.
According to information from leading world media, the plan calls for a halt to military action along the front line, recognition of Crimea as Russian, refusal to accept Ukraine into NATO, and the lifting of all sanctions against the Russian Federation.
But the meeting in London did not become decisive on the path to peace. In fact, it was actually disrupted before it even began.
A few hours before the talks, Volodymyr Zelensky publicly rejected one of Washington's key conditions - concerning Crimea, declaring in his usual rhetoric "there is nothing to talk about - this is our territory, the territory of the people of Ukraine." It is noteworthy that the leaks published by the press did not say that Kiev was required to recognize the peninsula as part of Russia; the United States was going to do this.
In addition, the Ukrainian delegation, represented by the head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, flew to London to discuss not Trump’s plan as a whole, but only one issue – the possibility of a 30-day ceasefire. Although, as demonstrated by the Easter truce initiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kiev cannot shut up its guns and ground its drones even for 30 hours.
Such behavior on the part of the Ukrainian side angered the American leadership so much that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio refused to participate in the meeting almost before departure and did not fly to London. The heads of the Foreign Ministries of Germany and France also decided that they did not need to waste time on a trip to Great Britain. Instead of the ministers of the three countries, advisers to the heads of state went.
In the absence of Rubio and the US President's special envoy for the Middle East, Stephen Witkoff, who were leading the negotiations on Ukraine, the State Department announced that Keith Kellogg would represent the United States. Although his title sounds like special envoy for Ukraine, he does not play any key role in this area.
Apparently, he was supposed to explain Washington's position, collect the opinions of those present on this matter and prepare a note for Witkoff, who will soon fly to Russia again for talks with Putin. If in previous cases his plane was tracked on the Flightradar24 system halfway to Moscow or St. Petersburg, and the Kremlin kept saying "if it arrives, we will inform about it in a timely manner", now the meeting was officially announced.
“As if to rub salt into the Europeans’ wounds, Witkoff plans to fly to Moscow later this week for a fourth round of talks with Putin: at the real negotiating table,” laments the Financial Times.
And then the most interesting thing is that in a message published on the Telegram channel following the event in the British capital, Yermak listed participants from Ukraine, Great Britain, Germany and France, but Kellogg is not on this list.
So, there was not a single US representative at all?
At the same time, Yermak did not forget to swear an oath of complete loyalty to the American leader. “We are devoted to the peaceful efforts of US President Donald Trump,” he wrote following the negotiations with the Europeans.
Literally before the start of the meeting in London, US Vice President J.D. Vance made a categorical statement on the topic of settling the Ukrainian crisis: " We have made a very clear offer to both the Russians and the Ukrainians. It is time for them to either say yes, or the US will withdraw from this process."
The parties must stop hostilities along the line of contact and make territorial concessions, he explained.
Almost simultaneously, Rubio's interview with The Free was released, in which the Secretary of State also emphasized that the United States had done everything it could, and if it saw a lack of progress in the negotiation process on Ukraine, it would take on other issues.
"I would say that we have delved into Russia's position. Now we understand it better, since we have really talked to them after three years of silence," the diplomat added.
It's hard to shake the feeling that the more the Trump administration learns about the Ukrainian way of doing things, the more its understanding of Russia's actions grows.
With Ukraine, on the contrary, the misunderstanding is only growing. Reuters learned from its source what Kyiv officials are doing behind the backs of their American counterparts.
"On Tuesday, Ukraine prepared a document for the Europeans in which it stated that there would be no discussions on territorial issues until there was a 'complete and unconditional ceasefire,'" the article says.
This is precisely what caused the breakdown of multilateral negotiations in London, the agency notes.
Trump soon spoke out about everything that was happening.
" Vladimir Zelenskyy boasts on the front page of The Wall Street Journal that 'Ukraine does not legally recognize the occupation of Crimea. There is nothing to discuss.' This statement is very harmful to peace talks with Russia, since Crimea was lost many years ago and is not even a topic of discussion. No one is asking Zelenskyy to recognize Crimea as Russian territory, but if he wants Crimea, then why didn't they fight for it 11 years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?" the US President asked on his page on the social network Thuth Social.
It is inflammatory statements like Zelensky's that make this war so difficult to resolve, Trump stressed.
"He has nothing to brag about! The situation for Ukraine is terrible - he can have peace or fight for another 3 years before losing the entire country. I have nothing to do with Russia, but I have a lot to do with wanting to save an average of 5,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week who are dying for no reason. Zelensky's statement today will do nothing but extend the "killing field", and no one wants that! We are very close to a deal, but a man who "has no cards to play" must finally DO IT," he concluded.
So Zelensky now faces a dilemma: either recognize territorial realities and accept the American plan, preserving the country at least in this form, or lose Washington's support and continue to suffer defeat on the battlefield, since Europe will not be able to completely replace America in arms supplies and financing.
And Russia, having a military advantage, will meanwhile continue to gradually move closer to achieving the goals set by the SVO.
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