Secretary of State Marco Rubio said talks with Ukraine over a deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war had been productive, but “there is more work to be done.”
The meeting, held in Florida, was attended by a Ukrainian delegation led by Ukraine’s new chief representative, National Security Council Secretary Rustem Umerov.
President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Wittkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner also attended the meeting. Witkoff is scheduled to visit Moscow next week for talks.
Umerov was appointed to replace Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president’s top negotiator, after he resigned following an anti-corruption raid on his home.
Sunday’s talks are the final step in two weeks of intense diplomatic activity.
It was triggered by the leak of a 28-point US peace plan that alarmed Ukraine and its European allies by appearing to favor Russia, which invaded Ukraine nearly four years ago.
“Ending the fight is not just about terms,” Rubio said at a meeting in Hallandale Beach, north of Miami.
“It is also about the conditions that set Ukraine up for long-term prosperity… I think we have built on that today, but there is more work to be done.”
He also told the Ukrainian delegation that the goal of peace talks with Russia was to make Ukraine “sovereign, independent and prosperous.”
“We are discussing Ukraine’s future, Ukraine’s security, preventing a recurrence of Ukraine’s aggression, Ukraine’s prosperity and how to rebuild Ukraine,” Umerov said as talks began Sunday.
“America is listening to us,” he said in English. “America is supporting us. America is working beside us.”
He later described the meeting as “productive and successful,” while Rubio said the meeting was “very productive and useful.”
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said the talks were “going well” and that a deal to end the conflict was likely to be reached.
Trump previously said he would also send Witkoff and Kushner to Moscow this week to meet President Vladimir Putin and discuss a much-revised peace plan.
“It is important that the talks have a constructive dynamic and that all issues are discussed openly with a clear focus on ensuring Ukraine’s sovereignty and national interests,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a social media post.
He added that he was grateful for the efforts of the United States and Trump to end the war.
One important issue that remains unresolved is the fate of Ukrainian territories annexed or controlled by Russia.
The talks in Florida were “not easy”, a source close to the Ukrainian delegation told AFP.
“But everyone is being constructive and trying to find a solution,” the source added.
Prime Minister Zelenskyy is scheduled to visit Paris on Monday for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, a strong ally.
Since Russia’s invasion on February 24, 2022, tens of thousands of soldiers and thousands of civilians have been killed or injured, and at least 7 million people have become refugees.
The conflict between the two former Soviet states began in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and supported an armed uprising in eastern Ukraine following the overthrow of Ukraine’s pro-Russian president.
