{"id":316868,"date":"2025-11-30T18:16:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-30T18:16:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/316868\/"},"modified":"2025-11-30T18:16:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T18:16:07","slug":"u-s-ukrainian-negotiators-meet-in-florida-as-trump-seeks-to-broker-peace-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/316868\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S., Ukrainian negotiators meet in Florida as Trump seeks to broker peace deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, left, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, centre, and Jared Kushner attend a meeting with Ukrainian officials, on Sunday, in Hallandale Beach, Fla.Terry Renna\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n

Top Trump administration officials met with Ukrainian negotiators in Florida on Sunday, pushing to broker an end to Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine and setting the stage for key talks planned this week in Moscow with Russian leader Vladimir Putin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump<\/a>, held talks with a Ukrainian delegation to further hash out the details of a proposed peace framework. The negotiations come at a sensitive moment for Ukraine as it continues to push back against Russian forces that invaded in 2022<\/a> while dealing with a domestic corruption scandal.<\/p>\n

Diplomats have been focused on revisions to a proposed 28-point plan<\/a> developed in negotiations between Washington and Moscow. That plan has been criticized as being too weighted toward Russian demands. As the meeting began Sunday, Rubio focused on reassuring Ukraine.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe end goal, obviously, is not just the end of the war,\u201d Rubio said in brief remarks. \u201cBut it\u2019s also about securing an end to the war that leaves Ukraine sovereign and independent and with an opportunity at real prosperity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not just about peace deals,\u201d the top American diplomat said as the teams sat down at the Shell Bay Club, a golf and racket club developed by Witkoff in Hallandale Beach.<\/p>\n

Analysis: U.S. peace plan for Ukraine bears strong resemblance to Putin\u2019s terms<\/a><\/p>\n

Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine\u2019s security council, responded to Rubio by expressing his country\u2019s appreciation for U.S. efforts, a message geared toward Trump, who has at times claimed that Ukraine has not been sufficiently grateful for U.S. assistance during the war.<\/p>\n

\u201cU.S. is hearing us,\u201d Umerov said. \u201cU.S. is supporting us. U.S. is working beside us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Umerov has been involved in ongoing talks. But until now, Ukraine\u2019s head negotiator had been Andrii Yermak, the powerful chief of staff of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky<\/a>. On Friday, Zelensky announced the resignation of Yermak<\/a>, after his home was searched by anti-corruption investigators.<\/p>\n

Zelensky\u2019s government has been roiled by fallout from a scandal over $100 million embezzled from the energy sector through kickbacks paid by contractors, causing newfound domestic pressures for Zelensky.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council Rustem Umerov and other members of a Ukrainian delegation in Hallandale Beach, Fla., on Sunday.Eva Marie Uzcategui\/Reuters<\/p>\n

It was only a week ago that Rubio had met with Yermak in Geneva, with each side saying the talks had been positive in putting together a revised peace plan.<\/p>\n

Among the other members of the Ukrainian delegation were Andrii Hnatov, the head of Ukraine\u2019s armed forces, and presidential adviser Oleksandr Bevz.<\/p>\n

The plan, which Trump has since played down as a \u201cconcept\u201d or a \u201cmap\u201d to be \u201cfine-tuned,\u201d would have imposed limits on the size of Ukraine\u2019s military, blocked the country from joining NATO and required Ukraine to hold elections in 100 days. Negotiators have indicated the framework has changed, but it\u2019s not clear how its provisions have been altered.<\/p>\n

It had initially envisioned Ukraine ceding the entire eastern region of the Donbas to Russia \u2013 a sticking point for Kyiv.<\/p>\n

Trump said on Tuesday that he would send Witkoff and perhaps Kushner to Moscow this week to meet with Putin about the plan. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in comments published Sunday on Russian state television, said Putin would see Witkoff before Thursday, when Putin departs for India.<\/p>\n

Both Witkoff and Kushner, like Trump, hail from the world of real estate that values dealmaking over the conventions of diplomacy. The pair also were behind a 20-point proposal that led to a ceasefire in Gaza.<\/p>\n

Zelensky wrote on X that the Ukrainian delegation would \u201cswiftly and substantively work out the steps needed to end the war.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his nightly address on Saturday, Zelensky said the American side was \u201cdemonstrating a constructive approach.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the coming days it is feasible to flesh out the steps to determine how to bring the war to a dignified end,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Attacks continue despite diplomatic efforts to end the war<\/p>\n

On Saturday, Russian drone and missile attacks in and around Ukraine\u2019s capital, Kyiv, killed at least three people and wounded dozens more, officials said. Fresh attacks overnight into Sunday killed one person and wounded 19 others, including four children, local officials said, when a drone hit a nine-story apartment block in the city of Vyshhorod in the Kyiv region.<\/p>\n

In a post on Telegram Sunday, Zelensky said Russia had attacked Ukraine with 122 strike drones and ballistic missiles.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

A vendor carries debris at a street market, near an apartment building, which were damaged during a Russian overnight drone strike, in the town of Vyshhorod, Kyiv region, Ukraine, on Nov. 30.Gleb Garanich\/Reuters<\/p>\n

\u201cSuch attacks occur daily. This week alone, Russians have used nearly 1,400 strike drones, 1,100 guided aerial bombs and 66 missiles against our people. That is why we must strengthen Ukraine\u2019s resilience every day. Missiles and air defence systems are necessary, and we must also actively work with our partners for peace,\u201d Zelensky said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need real, reliable solutions that will help end the war,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

After Ukraine claimed responsibility for damaging a major oil terminal on Saturday near the Russian port of Novorossiysk, owned by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, Kazakhstan told Ukraine on Sunday to stop attacking the Black Sea terminal. The CPC pipeline, which starts in Kazakhstan and ends at the Novorossisyk terminal, handles a large proportion of Kazakhstan\u2019s oil exports.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe view what has occurred as an action harming the bilateral relations of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Ukraine, and we expect the Ukrainian side to take effective measures to prevent similar incidents in the future,\u201d Kazakhstan\u2019s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, left, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, centre, and Jared…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":316869,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,43,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,44,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,865,61,41,39,42,40,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-316868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-headlines","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-news","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=316868"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316868\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/316869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=316868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=316868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=316868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}