This past weekend in Florida, U.S. and Russian officials sat down to kick off fresh talks aimed at ending the long-running conflict in Ukraine 🌎. President Donald Trump's team is pushing both sides to find common ground.
The talks began on Saturday and paused at the end of the day, with envoy Kirill Dmitriev confirming they're "proceeding constructively" and will continue through Sunday. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner represented the U.S. side, with Senator Marco Rubio hinting he might drop by to join the discussions.
Earlier in the week, U.S. negotiators met with Ukrainian leaders and European partners to hash out security guarantees for Kyiv. Now, all eyes are on whether Russia will accept these terms.
In Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the idea of a trilateral meeting between national security advisers from the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia. He noted that past talks in Türkiye led to the return of captured soldiers and civilians, so there's hope for more concrete wins this time.
But sticking points remain: territorial disputes, the fate of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, and funding Ukraine's reconstruction. Russian President Vladimir Putin insists his terms haven't changed since June 2024, demanding Ukraine give up its NATO ambitions and withdraw from four regions.
Ukraine's top negotiator Rustem Umerov says the U.S. and EU teams are on the same page and ready to keep working on next steps. With talks resuming today, the world is waiting to see if this diplomatic marathon can finally cross the finish line 🤔.
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U.S., Russian officials meet in Florida for further Ukraine talks
cgtn.com
