Rubio and Witkoff to skip London Ukraine talks

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will not attend the upcoming Ukraine talks in London, despite earlier plans to participate, the State Department has confirmed. President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff has also withdrawn from the meeting, according to the Financial Times, and is expected to visit Moscow instead.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce cited scheduling conflicts as the reason for Rubio’s withdrawal from Wednesday’s talks, insisting this does not signal a change in the US commitment to the peace process.

“Secretary Rubio is a busy man… And so when there’s certain plans, they’re conditional. And in this particular instance, while the meetings in London are still occurring, he will not be attending. But that is not a statement regarding the meetings; it’s a statement about logistical issues in his schedule,” Bruce told journalists on Tuesday.

General Keith Kellogg, another of Trump’s envoys tasked with negotiating with Kiev directly, will represent Washington at the London discussions. The talks will include officials from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany – countries that advocate continued military support for Ukraine – as well as representatives from Kiev.

The London talks follow a series of high-level meetings in Paris last week, where Rubio and Witkoff held discussions with European and Ukrainian officials. According to the New York Post, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov reportedly told the US envoys that Kiev is “90%” aligned with Washington’s proposed peace framework, which has not yet been made public.

Sources cited by the Washington Post on Tuesday claimed that the US proposals include formally recognizing Crimea as Russian territory and potentially lifting sanctions on Moscow as part of a future agreement. Meanwhile, the Financial Times claimed that Russia is prepared to halt hostilities along the current front line.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged the media and public to rely on official sources regarding developments in US–Russian talks on the Ukraine conflict, warning that “a lot of fakes are being published now, including by respected publications.” Both Washington and Moscow have officially confirmed that Witkoff will travel to Russia for talks “later this week.”

Moscow has repeatedly stated that the status of Crimea – which joined Russia in 2014 following a referendum held after a Western-backed coup in Kiev – and the four other former Ukrainian regions that voted to join Russia in 2022 is not subject to negotiation. Russian officials maintain that recognizing the “reality on the ground” is essential to achieving a lasting peace.