Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Ukraine was ready for talks with Russia as long as a ceasefire is implemented first. Steve Witkoff, U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, was sent to participate in talks with European officials in London the following day.
Russia currently holds partial control of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions, with Russian President Vladimir Putin demanding that Ukraine withdraw its forces from areas still held by Kyiv in those regions. According to U.S. media, Trump has additionally proposed recognizing Russia’s occupation of Crimea, which was illegally seized by Russia in 2014.
However, Zelenskyy refused to recognize Russian control of the peninsula, as doing so would violate the Ukrainian constitution. Trump took to his social media website, Truth Social, to criticize Zelenskyy, blaming him for prolonging peace negotiations with Russia.
Recognizing Russia’s control of Crimea would not only reverse a decade of U.S. policy., but also fly in the face of a post-WWII consensus that borders should not be changed by force.
Although U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was expected to take part in the discussions in London, ultimately he did not attend, citing “logistical issues.” Officials familiar with the matter said Rubio opted out because the Trump administration believed they had not yet reached a decisive point in the talks.
Trump had promised to reach a deal with Putin within 24 hours of taking office, but now three months into his presidency, he has so far failed to win any concessions from the Russian side. He had previously expressed his hopes that a peace deal could be reached this week, but there are no signs that the two sides are close to a ceasefire, let alone a long-term solution.