Ukraine and US Negotiators Set to Meet in Florida Following Moscow Talks, White House Confirms

US special envoy Steve Witkoff is set to meet Rustem Umerov, the head of Ukraine's national security council, for discussions in Miami on Thursday, as confirmed by the White House. Witkoff had a nearly five—hour meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday, where the Kremlin stated that there was "no compromise" reached regarding the end of the war in Ukraine. US President Donald Trump described the talks as "reasonably good," but noted it was premature to predict the outcome since "it takes two to tango." Putin later remarked that achieving a consensus would not be an "easy task," emphasizing Moscow's ongoing demand for Ukrainian troops to withdraw from the Donbas region, which is currently occupied by Russian forces. On Thursday, Russian state media quoted Putin saying: "It all comes down to this. Either we liberate these territories by force of arms or Ukrainian troops will leave these territories and stop fighting there." That was their impression.

Earlier on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that "the world clearly feels that there is a real opportunity to end the war," but insisted that negotiations must be "backed by pressure on Russia."The US-Russia discussions at the Kremlin followed several days of US meetings with Ukrainian and European leaders, amid concerns that the draft of a peace deal was overly favorable to Russia's demands. Kyiv and its European allies believe that, even if a peace deal is reached, the best way to prevent future Russian aggression would be to grant Ukraine NATO membership. Russia strongly opposes this idea, and Trump has also indicated he has no plans to allow Kyiv into the alliance. The possibility of Ukraine joining NATO was a "key question" addressed in Moscow, according to the Kremlin on Wednesday. The question of whether Ukraine will be allowed to join NATO is a significant concern regarding future attacks if the peace plan ultimately leads to the end of the war.