Ukrainian and American negotiators met yesterday Saturday in Florida with the aim of finding a way out of the war between Ukraine and Russia, with more talks scheduled for today.
Russian negotiators were not present at the meeting.
“We continued to discuss key issues and the next steps of the negotiating process,” the head of the Ukrainian negotiators, Rustem Umerov, told X.
“Particular attention was paid to the convergence of approaches for further progress towards achieving practical results,”
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met twice this year for US-sponsored talks in the United Arab Emirates and had another round of talks in Geneva in February. Moscow and Kiev agreed to a prisoner swap, but no further progress was made.
The White House called the latest meeting “constructive,” with discussions “focused on narrowing and resolving the remaining issues in order to move closer to a comprehensive peace agreement.”
Umerov and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said new talks would be held today.
The US negotiating team is led by Steve Whitcombo, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Witkov commenting on the talks told X that the US side welcomes “the continued commitment to resolving outstanding issues, the recognition of the importance of broader global stability.
He thanked Trump “for his continued leadership in advancing efforts”. For his part, Umerov thanked the US for “consistent work” to advance the talks.
In his regular nightly video message, Zelensky commented that continued negotiations are critical to reaching an agreement.
“It is important for all of us in the world that diplomacy continues and that we are trying to end this war (…) Nobody wants this war,”
“The most important thing is to understand how ready the Russian side is to move towards a real end to the war and whether it is ready to do so with sincerity and dignity,” the Ukrainian President noted.
Four dead and blackout
In between yesterday’s Russian attacks in southeastern Ukraine caused the deaths of four people and plunged much of Chernihiv province into darkness, officials said.
Zaporizhia Governor Ivan Fedorov said a man and a woman were killed in a Russian attack, while six others, including six children, were wounded.
In the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk province, officials noted that two people died southeast of the capital Dnipro. Five other people were wounded in attacks in various parts of the province.
As Zelensky pointed out, the Russian attacks disrupted electricity in Chernihiv province, which borders Russia and Belarus.
For his part, the governor of Vyacheslav Kaus says efforts are being made to restore the damage caused by a drone to an energy facility.
Problems with water and electricity supplies were also seen in parts of Kiev following what local officials described as an incident on the energy grid.
