“Ukraine is ready to negotiate – but not to surrender”: Rubio pulls out as peace talks falter

High-level peace talks meant to stop the fighting in Ukraine hit a major problem this week. A planned meeting in London involving top officials from the US, Ukraine, and Europe was scaled back after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio pulled out. Because of this, a larger meeting of foreign ministers was called off.

Despite Rubio pulling out, lower-level officials still held talks, with the US sending its Ukraine representative instead, according to Reuters. The sudden change shows how much the sides disagree over the terms of a possible peace deal. One big issue is land disputes, especially over Crimea, which Russia took control of in 2014.

The Guardian reported that Ukraine has said it is willing to talk but refuses to accept Russia’s claim over Crimea, as the Deputy Prime Minister recently made clear. Zelenskyy himself said, “There is nothing new to mention or discuss. Ukraine will not recognise the occupation of Crimea.” This directly conflicts with parts of a peace plan suggested by the US.

Ukraine and Russia peace talks falter as US pulls away

The US proposal, shared earlier in Paris, suggests compromises from both sides. For Ukraine, it reportedly includes accepting Russia’s takeover of Crimea and letting Russia keep much of the Ukrainian land it currently holds. It would also likely block Ukraine from joining NATO and involve the US easing some sanctions on Russia.

For Russia, the plan might mean giving up some land it only partly controls, though the details are unclear. It favors Russia too much for Ukraine to sign and looks just like an agreement to surrender. to quote Svyrydenko wrote on X, “Ukraine is ready to negotiate – but not to surrender.”

European countries and Ukraine have raised serious concerns, especially about recognizing Crimea’s annexation, which many see as illegal, per NY Times. European officials told the US which parts of any deal they consider unacceptable. Some reports say the US plan was just a starting point for talks, while others suggest it reflected a stronger US position. This confusion shows how hard it is to get all sides to agree.

Making things harder, a recent 30-hour Easter ceasefire announced by Putin was mostly ignored, with both Ukraine and the UK reporting many violations. The fact that even a short truce was not respected shows how little trust there is between the sides and raises doubts about whether promises made in talks will be kept.

The scaling back of the London talks shows how poorly this whole situation is going. While lower-level officials keep talking, the lack of high-level involvement shows how difficult it will be to reach a lasting agreement.

Major challenges remain, including Russia’s demand that EU sanctions be lifted before talks end (which Europe strongly opposes), disagreements over how to protect Ukraine’s security in the future (such as whether to send European peacekeepers), and completely different views on land issues and Crimea’s status. The path to peace is still long and tough, and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.