Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, are set to meet with Ukrainian negotiators in Florida on Sunday. This meeting aims to follow up on recent peace discussions in Geneva and finalize details of a deal that was reached last week.
This gathering comes on the heels of Ukrainian chief negotiator Andriy Yermak resigning after anti-corruption agencies conducted a raid on his home related to a $100 million kickback scheme associated with the state nuclear power company, Energoatom.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed that “dialogue based on the Geneva issues will continue,” emphasizing the active role of diplomacy. He indicated that the U.S. has adopted a constructive attitude. In the coming days, they hope to outline how to bring the conflict to a respectful conclusion. The Ukrainian delegation has clear instructions and is expected to align with the nation’s priorities.
Zelenskiy also mentioned that Rustem Umerov, who heads the Ukrainian delegation and is the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, will be leading initiatives to clarify the steps to conclude the war and finalize the peace framework.
U.S. officials noted that there is just one minor point left unresolved regarding the peace agreement.
However, there are indications that Ukraine faces challenging decisions, especially as U.S. peace plans encounter significant hurdles.
Witkoff is also scheduled to visit Moscow this week to discuss the updated peace framework, which has been pared down to 19 points from the previously criticized 28, which were seen as overly favorable to Russia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hinted that Moscow might abandon the latest proposal if the underlying agreements made during the Alaska summit between Trump and Putin aren’t honored. He warned that the situation would change dramatically if key clauses were disregarded.
Despite ongoing negotiations, Russia has yet to soften its stringent demands. The Kremlin insists that Ukraine must not join NATO and needs to renounce claims over the rest of the Donbass region as part of any deal.
The conflict rages on, with the Kremlin relentlessly launching drones and missiles. President Zelenskiy reported that Russia had unleashed approximately 1,400 drones, 1,100 guided bombs, and 66 missiles targeting Ukraine in the last week alone.
