After holding separate meetings with Ukrainian, European, and Russian negotiators in the state of Florida, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff has praised discussions on ending Moscow’s conflict in Ukraine as “productive and constructive.”
The US, Russia, and Ukraine held their latest meetings on a 20-point plan that US President Donald Trump has touted to end the nearly four-year-old conflict on Sunday in Miami.
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No clear indications of imminent resolutions to pressing issues, including the one involving the territory Russia has seized during the conflict, have been received despite US optimism.
On Sunday, Witkoff met with officials from Europe and the Ukraine during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev. The Ukrainian delegation, led by senior official Rustem Umerov, was then led by him in separate discussions.
Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, also attended the gatherings.
According to Witkoff and Umerov, Sunday’s discussions focused on a “shared strategic approach between Ukraine, the United States, and Europe,” according to a joint statement released on the occasion.
Discussions of timelines and the timing of the next steps were given particular attention, they said.
The 20-point plan, a “multilateral security guarantee framework,” a “US Security guarantee framework for Ukraine,” and an “economic &, prosperity plan” were the focus of discussions between Ukrainian and US officials on Sunday, according to Witkoff and Umerov.
Witkoff claimed that his discussions with Dmitriev were also “productive and constructive” in a separate X post that used some of the same language.
In the post, Witkoff stated that “Russia is unwaveringly committed to bringing peace to Ukraine.” Russia values the United States’ efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine and restore world peace.
Yury Ushakov, Putin’s top aide to foreign policy, claimed earlier on Sunday that the changes the US and its allies in Europe demanded to the US’s proposed framework had no effect on peace.
Dmitriev is scheduled to return to Moscow on Monday, according to Ushakov, and Putin will be informed of the outcome of his discussions.
He said, “We will formulate the position with which we will proceed, including in our contacts with the Americans.”
Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, claims that its participation in the talks will only hinder them.
After the latter suggested that Europe should contact the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin said on Sunday that Putin was ready to talk to Emmanuel Macron.
Putin and Macron have “expressed their willingness to dialogue,” Peskov told RIA Novosti, a Russian state news agency. Therefore, “anything that is mutual political will can only be positively evaluated”
The Russian statement was welcomed by Macron’s office.
The Kremlin’s public support of this strategy is welcome, “. In the coming days, it said, “We will decide which course of action is best.”
Trump’s plan, which includes 28 points, was first released last month, drawing immediate criticism from European leaders who claimed it echoed the demands of the Kremlin.
Zelenskyy has since claimed that Ukraine and its allies in Europe have developed a 20-point plan based on the White House’s initial proposal.
One of the main disagreements between Russia and Ukraine is how much of the land that Russia has seized in Ukraine since launching its full-scale invasion in the wake of years of fighting in the east.
Zelenskyy described the discussions as “constructive” and claimed they were moving “quite quickly.” He did, however, warn that “a lot depends on whether Russia feels the need to end the war for real.”
Source: Aljazeera
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