US Envoy Witkoff Calls Ukraine Talks Productive

(Patria) - Talks held between American, European, and Ukrainian officials in the last three days in Florida, aimed at ending the Russian war in Ukraine, were productive and focused on aligning positions, said United States Special Envoy Steve Witkoff on Sunday.

US President Donald Trump is pressuring Ukraine and Russia to reach an agreement to end the nearly four-year conflict as soon as possible, but Russia wants to retain the Ukrainian territories it has occupied, and Kyiv has refused to cede them, Reuters reported.

After meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev on Saturday, Witkoff and Trump's advisor Jared Kushner met with officials from Ukraine and Europe on Sunday, and then separately with a Ukrainian delegation led by senior official Rustem Umerov.

Witkoff called these talks "productive and constructive" on social media, focusing on a "common strategic approach between Ukraine, the United States, and Europe".

He did not mention his talks with the Russians.

The meetings in Miami were the latest in a series of discussions between the US, Russia, and Ukraine on a 20-point plan to end the war drafted by the US.

Witkoff said the US-Ukraine meeting focused on four key points: further development of the 20-point plan, a framework for multilateral security guarantees, a framework for US security guarantees for Ukraine, and further development of the economy and prosperity for Ukraine's reconstruction.

Negotiators focused particularly on "timelines" and "the sequence of next steps," Witkoff said.

US, Ukrainian, and European officials reported progress earlier this week regarding security guarantees for Kyiv as part of the negotiations to end the war, but it remains unclear whether these terms will be acceptable to Moscow.
"Peace must be not only a cessation of hostilities, but also a dignified foundation for a stable future," Witkoff said.

Prior to the Miami meeting, US intelligence agencies continued to indicate that Putin had not abandoned his ambitions to seize Ukrainian territory, according to six people familiar with the intelligence.

In response to a Reuters report on Friday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard stated on social media platform X that US intelligence assessments showed Russia "currently does not have the capability to conquer and occupy all of Ukraine, let alone Europe".

Senators Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina and a close ally of Trump, said on Sunday's "Meet The Press" on NBC that it is still unclear whether Putin will accept the current agreement.
If he does not, Graham said, the Trump administration should adopt an approach similar to its recent actions with oil tankers near Venezuela and "seize ships carrying sanctioned Russian oil".
Russia's refusal to accept the current proposal should also lead to Russia being designated as a "state sponsor of terrorism for the abduction of 20,000 Ukrainian children," Graham said.