Photo: Hromadske
PARIS/WASHINGTON – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Vitkoff have abruptly pulled out of a key round of ceasefire talks in Ukraine that were due to take place in London. The decision, announced on Tuesday, 22 April 2025, casts doubt on the Trump administration’s efforts to broker a peace deal in the war between Russia and Ukraine. The withdrawal from the talks comes as disagreements over the status of Crimea have escalated, as the US has reportedly offered to recognise Russia’s illegal annexation of the peninsula as part of a broader deal – a proposal that Ukraine and its European allies have strongly rejected.
The talks in London, scheduled for Wednesday, 23 April, were to follow up on discussions held in Paris on 17 April, where Rubio, Vitkoff and senior officials from Ukraine, France, Germany and the UK worked to create a framework for a possible ceasefire. French President Emmanuel Macron called the Paris meetings a “positive process” and confirmed that the delegations would meet again in London. However, Rubio and Witkoff’s decision to withdraw from the talks threatens to derail the process.
Source: POLITICO
