Description: Government officials from Ukraine, the US and the UK attended a meeting in London where the latest US peace proposal has been discussed. Attendees from France and Germany have canceled their trips when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced he won’t be attending in London, citing scheduling issues. President Trump and President Zelenskyy indirectly clashed once again over the proposal, as Trump’s idea was for Ukraine to cede the disputed five regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhye, Kherson and Crimea. Zelenskyy before the start of the London meeting announced that Ukraine won’t back down from objecting to cede the territories to Russia as part of a potential peace agreement. The meeting comes at a sensitive time when both Ukraine and Russia are pressured by the US to conclude initial steps towards a possible agreement with the US administration threatening to abandon the initiative entirely.
Impact: The London meeting despite being enlarged in scope by the public and the media failed to deliver any concrete progress on the peace initiative regarding the Russia – Ukraine war. Previously adopted positions from all parties involved were reconfirmed with the US continuously pushing Ukraine towards driving a hard bargain concerning the country’s territorial integrity and independence. Russia has continued to slow roll and stall the negotiations by reiterating their maximalist and hardline demands, while Europe is still having an identity crisis trying to find its bearing between supporting Ukraine, condemning and sanctioning Russia and maneuvering diplomatically with the US. Potential exclusion from the process from the US side would backtrack the initiative and most definitely sabotage any future reproachment from both Ukraine and Russia towards negotiations. Europe despite its unequivocal support to Ukraine is still lacking in its diplomatic efforts to reinsert itself between the US and Russia and facilitate potential concept for a deal which would be acceptable for both sides.