Britain has downplayed expectations of a breakthrough, but says this is an important week for diplomatic efforts to stop more than three years of fighting since Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour.
Trump said last week that negotiations were “coming to a head” and the US might “take a pass” if either of the two sides didn’t move toward peace.
Rubio has also indicated the US might soon back away from negotiations if they don’t progress, and suggested that Wednesday’s meeting could be decisive in determining whether the Trump administration continues its involvement.
Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said US special envoy Steve Witkoff was expected to visit Moscow again this week. Ushakov provided no further details.
Western analysts say Moscow is in no rush to conclude peace talks, because it has battlefield momentum and wants to capture more Ukrainian land.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesman, Dave Pares said “the ball’s in Russia’s court.
“Now is the time for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin to show he’s serious about peace,” he said.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Ukraine’s delegation heading to the UK has a mandate to discuss only an unconditional or partial ceasefire with Russia. He said that “after a ceasefire, we’re prepared to sit down for talks in any format.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov cautioned that “the settlement issue is so complex that it would be wrong to put some tight limits to it and try to set some short time frame for a settlement, a viable settlement — it would be a thankless task.” Delegations from Russia and Ukraine have held separate talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia as Trump tries to make good on his campaign promise to end the war.
Russia has effectively rejected a US proposal for an immediate and full 30-day halt in the fighting by imposing far-reaching conditions.
Putin declared a 30-hour unilateral ceasefire on Saturday, but Ukraine and British officials said Russian attacks continued during the alleged pause.
The Associated Press was unable to verify whether a ceasefire was in place along the roughly 1,000-kilometre front line.
Meanwhile, both Russia and Ukraine are preparing for the spring-summer military campaign, Ukrainian and Western officials say. (AP) NPK NPK
