Talks are under way between US and Ukrainian officials on a peace deal toward ending Kyiv’s war with Moscow, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council said.
“We have clear directives and priorities: safeguarding Ukrainian interests, ensuring substantive dialogue, and advancing on the basis of the progress achieved in Geneva,” wrote Rustem Umerov, Kyiv’s lead negotiator, on X.
“We are working to secure real peace for Ukraine and reliable, long-term security guarantees.”
While US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he expected talks with Ukrainian officials to yield “more progress” toward a deal to end the war in Ukraine.
“This is not just about peace deals. It’s about creating a pathway forward that leaves Ukraine sovereign, independent and prosperous and so we expect to make even more progress today,” Mr Rubio said in Hallandale Beach, Florida, where talks are taking place.
As the meeting began, Mr Umerov thanked the United States and its officials.
“US is hearing us, US is supporting us, US is walking besides us,” Mr Umerov said in English.
Special envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, were also present to represent the US side.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he expects the results of previous meetings in Geneva would be “hammered out” today.
In Geneva, Ukraine presented a counter-offer to proposals laid out by US Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll to leaders in Kyiv some two weeks ago.
“As a weatherman would say, there’s the inherent difficulty in forecasting because the atmosphere is a chaotic system where small changes can lead to large outcomes,” Kyiv’s first deputy foreign minister Sergiy Kyslytsya, also part of the delegation, wrote on X from Miami.
Meanwhile, Mr Zelensky said he had talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and thanked her for backing Kyiv’s resistance to Russia’s invasion.
“Ursula is paying close attention to the need to strengthen our resilience amid Russia’s constant strikes on our infrastructure and the energy sector,” he said on X.
Zelensky picks ex-Ukrainian envoy to US in major role
Oksana Markarova was Ukraine’s ambassador to the US
Meanwhile, Mr Zelensky has named Ukraine’s former ambassador to the US, Oksana Markarova, as his new adviser on reconstruction and investment.
“Starting today, Oksana Markarova will continue supporting our state as my Advisor on Rebuilding and Investments,” he wrote on X.
“Beyond the fundamental goal of defending our independence and the daily work to ensure Ukraine’s survival, we have along-term objective: to give Ukraine the capacity to rebuild after the fighting and restore normal economic development,” Mr Zelensky said.
Mr Zelensky is due to visit Paris tomorrow for talks with France’s President Emmanuel Macron, according to a French official.
Separately, a Russian drone attack has killed one person and wounded 11 on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital, the regional governor said.
Mykola Kalashnyk said: “Unfortunately, as a result of the enemy attack on Vyshgorod, one person was killed and 11 were wounded. Among them is one child.”