London (Europe Brief News): British Foreign Secretary David Lammy will facilitate discussions in London on Wednesday between US and European negotiators, with the goal of achieving a ceasefire in the ongoing three-year conflict between Ukraine and Russia. The discussions arise amid supposition that Russia has informed Washington of its potential willingness to forgo its claims on parts of Ukraine that it does not control.
The meeting in London aims to serve as a continuation of the discussions held in Paris the previous week, on April 17, 2025. U.S President Trump’s Special envoy Keith Kellogg will engage with the foreign ministers and national security advisers from France, Germany, the UK, and Ukraine, while UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy is set to conduct a bilateral meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart.
Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, and Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff were supposed to attend the meeting, but he cancelled at the last minute, therefore, the White House’s Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, will attend instead.
The US Secretary of State stated that he would postpone his trip to the UK for the upcoming months, sharing on X: “I look forward to following up after the ongoing discussions in London and rescheduling my trip to the UK in the coming months.”
This occurs alongside reports in the Financial Times suggesting that Russia may be poised to cease its invasion at the existing front lines and concede some territorial goals in exchange for US acknowledgment of Russian sovereignty in Crimea
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that he has not received any such proposals and dismissed the idea of acknowledging Crimea as Russian territory.
According to media reports, the Kellogg is bringing a comprehensive, “final” peace proposal between the US and Russia that allegedly involves the official US acknowledgment of Crimea as part of Russia and an informal recognition of Russian control over nearly all regions occupied since the beginning of the invasion
Zelensky has reiterated that Ukraine has not been involved in any of these discussions, asserting on Tuesday that “there is nothing to discuss. This contradicts our constitution. This is our land, the land of the Ukrainian people.”
Putin declared a temporary ceasefire for the Easter weekend on his own initiative, but UK Defence Secretary John Healey informed the House of Commons on Tuesday that British military intelligence found no signs of reduced attacks.
“While Putin has said he declared an Easter truce, he violated it,” he said. “While Putin says he wants peace, he has rejected a full ceasefire and while Putin says he wants to put an end to the fighting, he continues to play for time in the negotiations.”
Healey added that he could “confirm Russian military progress” was “slowing” while the country continued to “pressure Ukraine on a number of fronts”.
How did the high level talks in Paris go between U.S and European Officials?
French President Emmanuel Macron, who hosted the high level talk on April 17, 2025, describes it as “an important convergence.” He added, “Everyone wants to get peace. A robust and sustainable peace. The question is about phasing.” A spokesperson from the Élysée Palace said, “We have started a positive process in which Europeans are a part.”
The French official said: “The Americans are willing to talk about security guarantees, but the exact nature of those guarantees will depend on negotiations that allow Ukraine to achieve a strong and long-lasting peace beginning with a complete ceasefire as soon as possible.”
The Élysée spokesperson said the object of the meetings was “to allow Ukraine to better understand the US proposals”, adding that the fact that Rubio, Witkoff and Kellogg attended “shows they recognise the important role of the Europeans”.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on social media, “The time to end the war between Russia and Ukraine is now”. He added, “Today in Paris, Special Envoy to the Middle East and Special Presidential Envoy for Russia and Ukraine, Gen. Keith Kelogg and I met with leaders from France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Ukraine to talk about how we can stop the killing and reach a just and sustainable peace”. U.S President Donald Trump envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, who also attended the high level talk, stated the talks were “very productive” but he did not give more details.
A spokesperson for the US State department, Tammy Bruce said, “The United States and President Trump want this war to end, and they have now presented the outlines of a durable and lasting peace to all parties.” He added, “The encouraging reception in Paris to the United States framework shows that peace is possible if all parties commit to reaching an agreement.”
Bruce said Secretary of State Marco spoke by phone with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on Thursday April 17, 2025, conveying the same message he gave the delegations in Paris.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, stated that “We exchanged views on the next steps, including the implementation of a full ceasefire, the involvement of a multinational military contingent and development of effective security architecture for Ukraine.”
The high level talk in Paris was the first meeting of top United States officials, European Political leaders and Ukrainian representatives who met jointly to seek an end to the war, since U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January.
What Triggered the High- Level talks between US and Europe?
The High level talks between U.S officials with the European leaders comes in the light of a dubious 30-hour truce and several weeks of intensified Russian bombardment of Ukrainian cities, including a particularly brutal strike that killed at least 35 people in the north-eastern city of Sumy on onApril 13, 2025.
According to Ukraine Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha in the high level talks the officials will discuss a full ceasefire of the Ukraine war and international peacekeeping and post war security framework.
The months of deadlock has frustrated Trump – last week, Rubio signaled the US may walk away from efforts to end the war if a deal can’t be found soon to halt Russia’s February 2022 invasion. “We are not going to continue with this endeavour for weeks and months on end,” he said. While Trump didn’t put a deadline on it, Rubio said Washington needed to see in “a matter of days” whether a deal was “doable in the short term,” adding that the US had “other priorities to focus on”.
The White House said Witkoff, who has already held three rounds of talks with President Vladimir Putin, would travel to Moscow this week for his fourth meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
