Ukraine, US to hold talks in Miami, says Kyiv official

Summary

• Ukrainian and US officials will meet in Miami on Dec 5 to discuss Washington's plan to end Russia's invasion.
• A revised plan seeks compromises from both sides, after Moscow rejected parts of the initial draft on Dec 2.
• Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov praised Jared Kushner's involvement, noting progress and a "genuinely friendly conversation" between Putin and Witkoff.

KYIV - Ukrainian negotiators and US officials will hold fresh talks on Washington’s plan to end Russia’s invasion at a meeting in Miami on Dec 5, a Kyiv official told AFP.

The two sides had been scheduled to meet in Florida on Dec 4 in talks involving US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, though officials have not confirmed if that meeting went ahead.

“Another meeting is expected today,” Mr Oleksandr Bevz, an adviser in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, told AFP after days of frenzied diplomacy on the plan.

A first draft of Washington’s plan
would have seen Ukraine surrendering land that Russia has not been able to win on the battlefield in return for security promises that fall short of Kyiv’s aspirations to join NATO.

A new version was later hammered out by officials from Ukraine, Europe and the US, but Moscow appeared to reject parts of it at a meeting on Dec 2.

Still, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said the late-night Moscow meeting on Dec 2 was cordial and he praised Mr Kushner joining the talks, which have been going on since spring.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Mr Witkoff “had a genuinely friendly conversation and they understand each other perfectly”, Mr Ushakov said on state TV on Dec 5.

“A new person has joined us, and I would say that he has turned out to be very useful,” he said of Mr Kushner, who is also an investment banker.

Mr Mykhailo Podolyak, another Zelensky adviser, wrote on social media Dec 5 that “the diplomatic process takes place mostly behind the scenes”.

“Ukraine seeks to end the war and is ready for talks,” Mr Podolyak said, adding: “The United States wants a pragmatic process and a quick end to the war, expecting compromises from both sides.” REUTERS