The US delegation held constructive talks with Ukrainian officials to address key issues needed to settle the four-year war pitting Kyiv against Moscow.
Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff said the meetings between the Ukrainian and American delegations were constructive as part of ongoing mediation efforts.
“Today in Florida, U.S. and Ukrainian delegations held constructive meetings as part of ongoing mediation efforts, with discussions focused on narrowing and resolving remaining items to move closer to a comprehensive peace agreement,” Witkoff said.
“We welcome the continued engagement toward resolving the outstanding issues, recognizing its importance to broader global stability, and thank the President of the United States for his continued leadership in advancing the efforts.”
Florida Talks See US, Ukraine Narrow Gaps in Peace Negotiations
On his part, Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said the sides discussed key issues and next steps in the negotiation track.
He added that Special attention was given to aligning approaches for advancing toward practical results.
At the end of the first day of meetings, a report was delivered to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.
Zelenskyy, in a video address, noted that it is vital for Ukraine that diplomatic negotiations continue and the country is striving to end the conflict.
He also revealed that the Ukrainian delegation will continue discussions on Sunday.
Zelenskyy stated that the most important task is to ascertain the extent to which the Russian side is prepared to genuinely end the conflict, particularly as geopolitical tensions increase due to the situation around Iran.
“It is important for all of us in the world that diplomacy continues and that we are trying to end this war. … No one wants this war,” he said.
“The most important thing is to understand how ready the Russian side is to move toward a real end to the war and whether they are prepared to do so honestly and decently.”
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Russia- Ukraine Agreements
This comes as Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met at two sets of US-brokered talks in the United Arab Emirates this year and a round in Geneva last month.
Moscow and Kyiv agreed on prisoner exchanges, but no breakthroughs were achieved.
Ukraine is also working to finalize agreements with eight Middle Eastern countries as the U.S.-Israeli tensions with Iran escalate, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The talks in Miami were initially planned to include Russian negotiators and take place in Abu Dhabi, focusing on finding a settlement to the war sparked by Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Territory remains the chief sticking point. Russia has demanded that Ukraine cede the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, including areas not yet captured by Russian forces.
However, Ukraine has rejected that Russian demand.
