US envoy Steve Witkoff calls Ukraine talks productive

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida – Talks held between US, European and Ukrainian officials over ‍the last three ​days in Florida aimed at ending Russia’s war in Ukraine were productive and focused on ‍aligning positions, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Dec 21.

US President Donald Trump has been pressuring Ukraine and Russia to come to an agreement
on ending the nearly four-year-old ​conflict as soon ​as possible, but Russia wants to keep the Ukrainian areas it has seized and Kyiv has refused to cede ground.

After meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev on Dec 20, Mr Witkoff and Trump adviser Jared Kushner met on Dec 21 with officials from Ukraine and Europe, and then separately ‍with the Ukrainian delegation, led by senior official Rustem Umerov.

Mr Witkoff, in a social media post, called Dec 21’s talks “productive and constructive” and focused on ​a “shared strategic approach between Ukraine, the United States and Europe”.

In a separate X post that used some of the same ​language, Mr Witkoff said his talks with Mr Dmitriev were also “productive and constructive”.

“Russia remains fully committed ⁠to achieving peace in Ukraine,” Mr Witkoff said in the post. “Russia highly values the efforts and support of the United States to resolve the Ukrainian conflict and re-establish global security.”

Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said earlier on Dec 21 that Ukrainian and European input into the peace proposals under discussion.

“After that, we will formulate the position with which we will proceed, including in our contacts with the ​Americans,” Mr Ushakov said in remarks posted by Kremlin pool journalist Pavel Zarubin on his Telegram channel.

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

Mr Witkoff said the US-Ukraine meeting focused ​on four key points: further development of the 20-point plan, a multilateral security guarantee framework, a US security guarantee framework for Ukraine, and further development on economics and prosperity to rebuild ‌Ukraine.

Negotiators focused especially on “timelines” and “sequencing of next steps”, Mr Witkoff said.

US, ​Ukrainian and European officials earlier this week reported progress on security guarantees for Kyiv as part of the talks to end the war, but it remains unclear if those terms will be acceptable to Moscow.

“Peace must be not only a cessation of hostilities, but also a dignified foundation for a stable future,” Mr Witkoff said.

Prior to the Miami meeting, US intelligence continued to indicate Mr Putin has not abandoned his ambitions of taking over Ukrainian territory, according to six people familiar with the intelligence.

In response to a Reuters report on Dec 19, national intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard said on X that US intelligence assessments have shown Russia “does ‍not currently have the capability to conquer and occupy all of Ukraine, let alone Europe”.

Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and close ​ally of Mr Trump’s, said on NBC’s Meet The Press on Dec 21 it was still unclear if Mr Putin would accept the current deal.

If he does not, Mr Graham said, the Trump ​administration should adopt an approach similar to its recent actions with oil tankers near Venezuela and “seize ships that ‌are carrying sanctioned Russian oil”.

A Russian refusal to accept the current proposal should also lead to labelling “Russia a state sponsor of terrorism for kidnapping 20,000 Ukrainian kids”, Mr Graham said. REUTERS