The White House did not give in to new obstruction of peace talks to end the war in Ukraine. United States President Donald Trump, who is at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida residence, where he escapes on weekends to play golf, has ordered his team to revitalize negotiations to find a solution to the nearly four-year-old war conflict. That’s why the Trump administration’s lead negotiators are scheduled to meet Sunday with top Ukrainian officials in Florida to try to reach a peace deal that would end the war.
Marco Rubio, Secretary of State, is leading the negotiations on the American side, in which Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, who participates in all major diplomatic summits, is also participating. Daniel Driscoll, the Secretary of the Army, who is in charge of talking to the Ukrainians, and Steve Witkoff, a personal friend of the president and special envoy to the Middle East and a figure who plays an unexpected role in the talks with the Russians. The Ukrainian delegation is headed by Rustam Umarov, Chairman of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.
The meeting is being held after the Trump administration’s latest attempt. The White House launched its latest diplomatic offensive 10 days ago with a 28-point document that served as a road map for negotiations. Since then, talks between the two parties have intensified, with the United States acting as mediator.
However, the 28-point plan included some Russian demands that were not acceptable to Kiev. The document included Kiev’s abandonment of Lugansk, Donetsk, and the Crimean Peninsula, including the territories that Moscow did not occupy militarily. It also requests Ukraine’s resignation to join NATO or the European Union and restrict its military. The proposal angered the Ukrainian authorities, who consider that the proposal was designed by Russia because it only responds to its interests. European allies have moved to ally with Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, and even several Republican members of Congress have warned of excessive Russian influence in the process.
Ukrainian diplomatic moves with the support of major European countries were able to clarify some points of the peace plan, but the changes displeased Putin, who froze the negotiations. During an appearance last week in Kyrgyzstan, he said, presenting the White House’s 28-point draft: “There was no peace plan, there was a list of issues that were proposed to be discussed.” The Russian president has stated that the original document “could lay the foundations for future agreements,” but warned that some Ukrainian proposals “seem ridiculous.” It does not seem that Putin is ready to speed up the agreement, knowing that time is on his side. He noted that “every word in the peace plan for Ukraine must be seriously discussed.”
The negotiations are also taking place under unequal conditions and at a time of extreme vulnerability for Zelensky, who is being harassed by corruption issues in his environment. His right-hand man and main negotiator so far, Andriy Yermak, was forced to resign due to corruption accusations. The departure of the Chief of Staff represents a great loss for Zelensky. This senior official participated in the high-level negotiations held last weekend in Geneva in the presence of Marco Rubio. In addition, the talks are taking place at the onset of winter and while Moscow is intensifying its attacks on Ukrainian power plants, leaving thousands of families in that country without light and the ability to warm themselves, and exposed to harsh weather conditions.
Another hot spot at the meeting was the presence of Steve Witkoff, one of the most active US negotiators and the man closest to President Trump. Witkov is attending the meeting amid controversy over a leaked phone call in which he appears to be advising a senior Russian official on how to negotiate with Trump, and recommends that Putin call the US President, anticipating a scheduled visit by Zelensky to the White House.
Therefore, the meeting seeks to remove the impression that the Trump administration has positioned itself in favor of Moscow and is biased towards Putin’s interests.
“This is about putting an end to the war by creating a mechanism and a path forward that allows them to be independent and sovereign, not fight another war and create massive prosperity for their people,” Rubio said Sunday at the start of the meeting with Ukrainian diplomats.
“We are working to ensure true peace for Ukraine and reliable and long-term security guarantees,” Rustam Umarov, head of the Ukrainian Defense Service, who headed this country’s delegation, wrote on the social media network. Omerov confirmed that he is in direct contact with Zelensky to inform him of the progress of the negotiations.