Ukraine talks in London made 'significant progress': British foreign office

LONDON - Talks between a Ukrainian delegation and officials from the United States, France and Germany held in London on Wednesday made "significant progress" toward a common position, said the British foreign office.

"The talks today were productive and successful, and significant progress was made on reaching a common position on next steps," a spokesperson for Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a statement.

"All agreed to continue their close coordination and looked forward to further talks soon," said the statement.

Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said the Ukrainian delegation had productive talks with US special envoy for Keith Kellogg in London on Wednesday.

"We talked about our consistent position regarding a ceasefire, also about security guarantees. For my part, I believe the meeting was very productive and successful," Umerov said.

Kellogg said on Wednesday that there were positive talks in London with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's Chief of Staff, Andriy Yermak.

The planned negotiations in London were downgraded after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio abruptly cancelled his trip to Britain, underscoring the gaps between the United States and its European allies over how to end the conflict.

Earlier, US Vice President JD Vance said it was time for Russia and Ukraine to either agree to a US peace proposal or "for the United States to walk away from this process".

The proposal called for freezing territorial lines "at some level close to where they are today" and a "long-term diplomatic settlement that hopefully will lead to long-term peace", Vance told reporters during his visit to India.