Top US officials pull out of Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks in London

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I guess the ”I could end it in 24 hours” plan has finally been abandoned, since Zelenskyy declined to surrender.

BBC:

London talks aimed at securing a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia…will no longer include US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff.

The meeting on Wednesday will instead take place among senior officials from the UK, France, Germany, Ukraine, and the US, while UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy will host a bilateral meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart.

Russia apparently wants all of the territory it now holds, and it wants Zelenskyy to acknowledge that all that, and Crimea, are all part of Russia now. (And also, presumably, they want an end to US sanctions as a cherry on top).

So where is Rubio going instead?

Do you have to ask?

The US secretary of state will instead focus on talks in Moscow this week, as the pace of diplomatic efforts to surrender Ukraine…oops! end the war quickens.

Compared to Trump + Rubio, Neville Chamberlain had a spine of steel.

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And in The Bulwark, what will happen when Little Marco shows up in Moscow?

What Will Putin Do?

Just days after Donald Trump told reporters that he would likely “take a pass” on negotiating peace between Russia and Ukraine if progress didn’t happen soon, the Trump administration is touting a new “peace” plan.

I confess: I put the quotes around “peace”.

The Trump proposal reportedly contains a huge gift to Putin: formal recognition by the United States of Crimea as Russian territory.

…and in return, the US and Ukraine get…nothing. Heckuva deal, Mr. Chamberlain. Peace in our time!

Embarrassing as hell, but at this point, such abject Putin bootlicking recognition might mean squat:

…ironically, the extent to which Trump has already trashed American global leadership may take out some of the sting: Pro-Ukrainian Russian expatriate journalist Michael Nacke has wryly pointed out that no other democracies would be likely to echo this recognition, just as “Trump has renamed the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, and no one gives a shit.”

MAGA!

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It’s not even MAGA, it’s Make Russia Big Again!