At the meeting in Florida on Sunday, a Ukrainian delegation led by Rustam Umerov, head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, sat with Witkoff and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said the talks aimed to “pave a path” to a sovereign Ukraine.
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“We have clear instructions and priorities: protecting Ukrainian interests, ensuring solid dialogue, and moving forward based on the progress achieved in Geneva,” Umerov wrote on X.
He said negotiators want to “ensure genuine peace and credible, long-term security guarantees for Ukraine”.
The talks came a week after Rubio and Ukrainian negotiators met in Geneva, Switzerland, to revise U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan, which was initially criticized as a Russian wish list. The meeting sets the stage for Witkoff’s planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which Trump had previously indicated would take place this week.
Putin said the US draft – which has not yet been published – could serve as a “basis for future agreements”, adding that his talks with Vitkoff should focus on the Russia-controlled Donbass and Crimea regions.
Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is taking part in the Florida talks, may also be present in Moscow.
Rubio said, “This is about ending the war in a way that creates a mechanism to move forward that will allow them (Ukraine) to be independent and sovereign and never have another war, and create tremendous prosperity for its people – not only rebuilding the country but entering an era of extraordinary economic progress.”
Talks between US and Ukrainian officials got off to a “good start” and are taking place in a “warm environment conducive to a possible progressive outcome”, Ukraine’s First Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislitsya said on Friday.
‘Important day’
The talks come at a sensitive moment for Ukraine as it continues to struggle against Russian forces expected to invade in 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is battling a corruption scandal that led to the resignation of his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, this week.
It was Yermak who met with Rubio in Geneva last week to amend Trump’s original 28-point plan, which initially envisioned Ukraine handing over the entire eastern region of Donbass to Russia, limiting the size of its military and giving up joining NATO.
The US reduced the original draft to 19 points after criticism from Kiev and Europe, but the current content remains unclear.
Zelensky wrote on X that the United States was “demonstrating a constructive approach”.
“In the coming days, it is possible to take steps to determine how to bring the war to an honorable end,” he said.
On Sunday, the Ukrainian president said he had spoken to NATO chief Mark Rutte and said, “These are important days and a lot can change.”
I spoke to Mark Rutte @SecGenNATOAnd we will continue our conversations in the coming days. These are important days and a lot can change. We are coordinating closely, and in our efforts – and in the efforts of all our partners – this is our joint measures and shared position…
– Volodymyr Zelensky / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) 30 November 2025
On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron hosted Zelensky for talks in Paris, the French presidency announced.
As Russia advances to the front lines, its forces have targeted Ukraine’s capital and region for two consecutive nights ahead of talks in the US.
Russian attacks on Ukraine overnight Saturday killed six people and injured dozens of others across the country, and cut power to 400,000 homes in Kiev.
A drone strike on the outskirts of Kiev killed one person and injured 11, the regional governor said.
Hours earlier, a Ukrainian security source said Kiev was responsible for attacks on two oil tankers in the Black Sea, believing they were transporting secretly sanctioned Russian oil.
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