US-Ukrainian-European talks in Miami on ending the war amid Russian threats
Ukrainians, Americans and Europeans are holding new talks Friday in the United States on Washington’s plan to end the war with Russia.
President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are hosting in Miami Ukrainian chief negotiator Rustam Umarov, and representatives of Britain, France and Germany.
US officials have made shuttle visits to several countries in an effort to finalize details of a plan they hope will end Europe’s biggest war in decades.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that Washington wouldn’t impose a deal, saying this whole narrative that we’re trying to impose something on Ukraine is ridiculous.
“We can’t force Ukraine to make a deal, we can’t force Russia to make a deal… You should want to reach an agreement”.
Russian officials, including Kremlin negotiator Kirill Dmitriev, are reportedly expected to meet separately with US officials in Florida over the weekend as intensified diplomatic efforts continue.
Umarov said on social media that he and the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Andriy Genatov, would begin a new series of consultations with the American side in Miami.
“At the initiative of Washington, our European partners are also participating in the talks,” he added, pointing to the constructive spirit of the Ukrainian delegation.
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Umarov, as well as national security advisers from the United Kingdom, France and Germany.
Witkoff and Kushner Umarov met in Miami earlier this month without European participation and visited Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In November, the United States shocked Europe with a 28-point plan to end the war, which ignored the demands of the continent’s major powers and was widely seen as biased toward Russia.
The plan has been amended under pressure from Ukraine and Europe, but Russia has yet to respond, with Putin saying on Friday that the ball is now fully in the court of Kyiv and its Western allies.
Putin also vowed during his annual press conference to continue the war, with the Russian military currently outnumbering the front.
Meanwhile, Kyiv has secured a much-needed lifeline after EU leaders agreed on Friday to provide a €90 billion loan to Ukraine to plug its budget deficit.
But the EU has failed to agree on the use of frozen Russian assets to fund Kyiv.
