High-level peace talks on Ukraine, scheduled to take place in London, were abruptly postponed on Wednesday after several senior diplomats withdrew at the last moment, the UK Foreign Office announced.
The announcement came just hours before the planned meetings on April 23, which were expected to include Ukraine’s Foreign Minister.
“We can confirm that today’s Peace Talks on Ukraine, involving foreign ministers, have been postponed,” the UK Government told Radio Free Europe, adding that “official-level discussions will continue but will be closed to the media.”
The talks aimed to pave the way toward ending Russia’s 38-month war in Ukraine but had already faced challenges when top diplomats, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, canceled their participation, undermining ongoing peace efforts.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy also reportedly chose not to attend, according to Sky News, although this has not been officially confirmed.
Despite the postponement, Ukraine’s delegation — including President Volodymyr Zelensky’s top adviser — still traveled to London.
“Regardless of everything, we will continue to work for peace,” wrote Andriy Yermak on Telegram.
Last week, Rubio and other senior Ukrainian and European officials met in Paris for discussions that many viewed as yielding limited progress toward ending the war.
However, Rubio later expressed frustration with the state of the talks and suggested the United States might completely withdraw from the negotiations.
Over the weekend, American media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and CNN reported that U.S. negotiators had presented Ukraine with a list of potential concessions.
These reportedly included the possible U.S. recognition of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and a permanent rejection of Ukraine’s bid for NATO membership — both proposals seen as unacceptable by President Zelensky and his government.
“Ukraine will not recognize the occupation of Crimea,” Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv on April 22. “It is our territory, the land of the Ukrainian people — there’s nothing to negotiate.”
