US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says talks with Ukraine on an agreement to end the Russia-Ukraine war have been productive, but there is still “more work to be done”.
The talks held in Florida were attended by a Ukrainian delegation led by Ukraine’s new chief negotiator, National Security Council Secretary Rustam Umerov.
President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were also present at the meeting. Witkoff is scheduled to visit Moscow for talks next week.
Umerov was brought in to replace Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president’s top negotiator, after he stepped down following an anti-corruption raid on his home.
Sunday’s meeting is the latest step in two weeks of intense diplomatic activity.
It was sparked by the leaking of a 28-point US peace plan that shocked Ukraine and its European allies into siding with Russia, which invaded Ukraine nearly four years ago.
“It’s not just about the terms that end the fight,” Rubio said at the meeting in Hallandale Beach, north of Miami.
“It’s also about creating the conditions that set Ukraine up for long-term prosperity… I think we’ve worked on that today, but there’s more work to be done.”
He also told the Ukrainian delegation that the aim of peace talks with Russia is to make Ukraine “sovereign, independent and prosperous”.
As Sunday’s talks began, Umerov said: “We are discussing the future of Ukraine, about the security of Ukraine, about the non-repetition of Ukrainian aggression, about the prosperity of Ukraine, about the reconstruction of Ukraine.”
“America is listening to us,” he said, speaking in English. “America is supporting us. America is working with us.”
She later described the talks as “productive and successful”, while Rubio said they had been “very productive and productive”.
Trump had earlier said he would send Witkoff and possibly also Kushner to Moscow this week to meet with President Vladimir Putin to discuss the peace plan, which has been significantly revised.
An important unresolved issue is the fate of Ukrainian territory that Russia has either annexed or controlled.
A source considered close to the Ukrainian delegation told news agency AFP that the talks in Florida were “not easy”.
“But everyone is trying to be creative and find solutions,” the source said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is due to visit Paris on Monday for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, a strong ally.
Thousands of soldiers have been killed or injured since Russia’s invasion on 24 February 2022, as well as thousands of civilians, and at least seven million people have become refugees.
The conflict between the two ex-Soviet states lasted until 2014 when Ukraine’s pro-Russian president was overthrown and Russia responded by annexing Crimea and supporting an armed rebellion in eastern Ukraine.
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