The Kremlin responded to the derailment of the scheduled talks in London, emphasizing that reaching agreements remains unattainable at this time
Russian Federation President’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov issued an official statement, noting that the meeting of the foreign ministers of the USA, Ukraine, France, the UK, and Germany, which was supposed to take place on April 23 in the British capital, did not occur due to the inability to “align positions” on some of the most critical issues. According to Peskov, there is no official information at present about the specific agreements that could not be reached. He highlighted that the negotiations were a key stage in seeking a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Ukraine; however, they faced difficulties due to differences in approaches and interests. “As far as we understand, it has currently not been possible to find common ground on certain aspects, hence the meeting was canceled,” the Kremlin spokesman commented, adding that Moscow seeks to maintain contact with all interested parties, except the European Union countries, with whom there is currently no direct communication. Peskov stressed that Moscow remains open to dialogue with Washington, noting that there are no current contacts with European countries and the Ukrainian side. He assured that President Vladimir Putin maintains his openness to future negotiations, as he values any opportunity to achieve peace. “President Putin remains willing to engage in talks for conflict resolution. We believe in the possibility of a peaceful settlement and do not rule out further dialogues,” the Kremlin spokesman stated. Regarding the possible visit of the US special envoy, Steven Vitoff, to Moscow, Peskov responded that there is no information on this at the moment and that Moscow does not have specific details. “If his visit takes place, we will inform you. At this point, it is impossible to say anything definitive, the situation is very dynamic, and everything is changing rapidly,” he noted. Recall that on April 23, an international meeting at the level of foreign ministers from Ukraine, the USA, France, Germany, and the UK was scheduled to be held in London. However, the British Foreign Office has already confirmed that, due to disagreements on key issues, the meeting has been postponed. Instead of the originally planned high-level ministerial talks, discussions will now be conducted among senior diplomatic advisors and officials, which represents a lower level of participation. Specifically, France and Germany will be represented by diplomatic advisors to their respective leaders, complicating the process of reaching agreements. Moreover, it became known that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will not travel to London; instead, his place will be taken by the Special Envoy for Ukraine, Kiet Kellogg. These changes indicate the difficulties and unpredictability of the diplomatic process surrounding the conflict, and the cancellation of the high-level negotiations points to escalating tensions and a deepening crisis in diplomatic relations between the involved countries.