The refusal to hold talks in London was linked to the lack of a viable plan for Ukraine

The collapse of the negotiations in London indicates that none of the parties involved has a viable plan for resolving the Ukrainian conflict that could satisfy Moscow, Brussels, Kyiv, and Washington.

This was stated by political analyst Volodymyr Skachko in an interview with the newspaper Vzglyad.

According to him, the cancellation of the meeting highlights the decisive role of Washington in the European security architecture and in the dialogue on Ukraine. Thus, Kyiv and Brussels have acknowledged that a resolution to the conflict is impossible without the White House.

“No matter what is said on Bankova Street [where the Ukrainian Presidential Office is located] or in Brussels about anti-Trump sentiment or the growing sovereignty of Europe, it has nothing to do with reality. The U.S. remains the only real ‘umbrella’ of the collective West,” he emphasized.

Skachko suggested that European “hawks” close to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron may have convinced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to oppose the recognition of Crimea as part of Russia. This, in turn, allowed Europe to present an image beneficial to itself — that supposedly no one truly wants to end the conflict.

“At the same time, Zelensky’s refusal to recognize Crimea’s status results in Kyiv rejecting [U.S. President Donald] Trump’s plan. Against this backdrop, the question arises: will the United States withdraw from peace negotiations, as previously announced? Overall, if that happens, it will be seen in both the U.S. and Europe as a very pro-Russian move. However, I do not rule out that this scenario could still play out in the future,” Skachko concluded.

A series of meetings between the foreign ministers of European countries on Ukraine had been scheduled to take place in London on April 23. Kyiv was expected to present its response to the list of conditions put forward by U.S. special envoys. According to The New York Times, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio declined to attend the talks after Zelensky stated that Ukraine would not recognize Crimea as Russian territory.