Ukraine reaffirms commitment to peace efforts led by US at London meeting, says Foreign Minister Sybiha

Kyiv, April 24 (IANS) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has said that the Ukrainian delegation reaffirmed Kyiv's commitment to the peace efforts led by the US side during a meeting with European national security and foreign policy advisers in London.

"We reaffirmed Ukraine's commitment to peace efforts led by US President Donald Trump and our willingness to move forward toward a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace," Sybiha said on Wednesday in a statement released by the Foreign Ministry.

He described as "meaningful" the conversation between the Ukrainian delegation, which also included head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, and national security and foreign policy advisers from the UK, France and Germany, Xinhua news agency reported.

Peace efforts were also the centrepiece of the meeting between Sybiha, Umerov and their British counterparts -- Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Defence Secretary John Healey, the statement said.

The Ukrainian team also held talks with US Special Envoy Keith Kellogg, with the parties making a "constructive exchange of views on the path to peace," according to the statement.

"Today's meetings helped coordinate positions and reaffirm our strong commitment to lasting peace and security not only in Ukraine, but throughout Europe and the transatlantic space," Sybiha noted.

"Ukraine wants the war to end more than anyone else in the world. We are committed to working together to achieve this goal."The London meeting, originally intended as a ministerial-level summit involving the US, the UK, Germany, France, and Ukraine, was notably downgraded after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff declined to participate.

Rubio pulled out after Ukraine submitted a document to European partners on April 22 declaring it would not enter talks on territorial issues until Russia agrees to a "full and unconditional ceasefire".

Following the meetings in London, Ukrainian Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak reiterated Kyiv's position, saying, "An immediate, complete and unconditional ceasefire should be the first step towards the start of negotiations on achieving a just and lasting peace."

Yermak also emphasised that Ukraine would defend its "principled positions," which form the basis of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Despite the absence of Rubio and Witkoff, the UK Foreign Ministry said "significant progress was made on reaching a common position," and that all parties reaffirmed support for US President Donald Trump's stated commitment to achieving a just and lasting peace.

The meeting followed a summit in Paris on April 17, where senior Trump administration officials outlined a controversial peace proposal to Ukrainian and European delegates.

The plan reportedly includes recognition of Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and a ban on Ukraine's NATO membership -- two central demands by the Kremlin.

Ukraine's leadership has firmly rejected any deal that concedes sovereign territory.

"This violates our Constitution. This is our territory, the territory of the people of Ukraine," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday.

The US President denied that Ukraine is being pressured to accept the Crimea clause, writing on Truth Social: "Nobody is asking Zelensky to recognise Crimea as Russian Territory."

Trump also argued that "even before the annexation of Crimea, major Russian submarine bases" were present there, and accused Zelensky of inflaming tensions with rhetoric that complicates peace efforts.

Despite Trump's repeated claims of progress, Russia has rejected a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire and continues offensive operations.

Putin declared a symbolic one-day Easter truce on April 19, which Ukraine reported was violated around 3,000 times.

Kyiv has separately proposed a 30-day ceasefire focused on halting long-range drone and missile strikes on civilian infrastructure, which the Kremlin has said it will "look into".

While Trump has repeatedly pledged to end the war swiftly and expressed frustration with Russia's refusal to de-escalate, the US President has yet to impose new sanctions or take punitive measures in response to Moscow's ongoing invasion.

--IANS

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