London talks on Russia-Ukraine war pared down

A planned meeting on Wednesday between top US, British, French and Ukrainian diplomats to push for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine was scrapped at the last minute amid little sign of progress in international efforts to end the more than three-year war.

- Bloomberg

KYIV:

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced the talks in London would involve only lower-ranking officials after the US State Department said on Tuesday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was unable to attend because of a scheduling issue.

Rubio's abrupt cancellation raised doubts about the direction of the negotiations.

It came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensy ruled out ceding territory to Russia as part of any potential peace agreement, calling it a non-starter.