U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin this week. Witkoff and Kushner were set to continue their shuttle diplomacy with a meeting with senior Ukrainian officials in Florida on Thursday. Photo by Alexander Kazakov/Kremlin Pool/EPA
Dec. 4 (UPI) — The White House said U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff would meet with Ukrainian national security chief Rustem Umerov in Miami on Thursday, amid mounting expectations for a deal to halt the war in Ukraine.
President Donald Trump said talks that Witkoff and Jared Kushner — Trump’s son-in-law — held with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday were “very good,” and that they believed Putin had a genuine desire for peace.
Speaking to reporters in the White House on Wednesday, Trump cautioned that it was too early to know what would come out of the meeting because “it does take two to tango.”
However, he said he believed the United States and Ukraine were now on the same page.
“I think we have something pretty well worked out with them. They’re very satisfied, considering,” Trump said.
In his nightly address Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed optimism for a breakthrough from the current push by the White House, kick-started by a new peace plan proposal floated by Trump, but drawn up with Russia, in mid-November.
“Everything is now proceeding quite effectively — at meetings in Geneva and Florida, Ukraine was heard, and Ukraine was listened to. And that matters. We expect it will continue exactly this way,” said Zelensky.
“Right now, the world clearly feels that there is a real opportunity to end the war, and current diplomatic activity in negotiations must be backed by pressure on Russia. Everything depends on this combination — constructive diplomacy plus pressure on the aggressor,” said Zelensky.
However, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Putin was “wasting the world’s time” and demanded Moscow end the killing now.
Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s top foreign policy aide, told reporters following Tuesday’s meeting that the talks had been “constructive” and an opportunity to discuss prospects on working toward ending the war but said the question of Ukraine ceding territory remained deadlocked.
“We do not see a resolution to the crisis,” he said, noting that the issue of territory was “the most important one for us.”
The Kremlin, which said Wednesday that Putin was willing to meet “as many times as needed” with the U.S. delegation, confirmed that “the key question” of Ukraine joining NATO was also discussed.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, while saying NATO components of any agreement would have to be dealt with separately from the Trump initiative, told a meeting NATO foreign ministers in Brussels that Kyiv’s allies were on track to meet their 2025 commitment to buy $5 billion worth U.S.-made weapons for Ukraine.
The Netherlands, Canada, Germany, Norway and announced new pledges this week to spend a combined $951 million.
“Ukraine’s security is closely linked to our own. Our support must continue unabated to help Ukraine defend itself today and deter tomorrow,” Rutte said, saying pledges for 2026 needed to hit $1 billion per month, or possibly $15 billion for the year.
President Donald Trump announces changes to fuel economy standards in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Wednesday. Trump announced a rollback of fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks set by the Biden administration, making it easier for automakers to sell gas-powered vehicles. Photo by Will Oliver/UPI | License Photo