Khaberni - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Saturday that Washington proposed holding the first direct negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in six months, coinciding with the arrival of diplomats in Miami for a new round of talks aimed at ending the war.
The last official direct meeting between Ukrainian and Russian delegations was in July in Istanbul, which resulted in prisoner exchanges, without making tangible progress in the negotiation process.
While a round table gathering all parties was not initially on the agenda, the Ukrainian president said, "They proposed this format as I understand: Ukraine, America, Russia," adding that Europeans might be present, and that it would be "logical to have a similar joint meeting... after we understand the potential outcomes of the meeting that has already taken place."
Before that, the Russian envoy for economic matters, Kirill Dmitriev, announced on Saturday that he was on his way to the city in Florida, where Ukrainian and European teams are participating in negotiations led by the U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and the son-in-law of the U.S. President Donald Trump, Jared Kushner.
Dmitriev wrote on X "on the way to Miami," accompanying his post with a peace dove icon and a short video clip showing the sunrise behind clouds over a palm-lined beach.
He said, "The advocates of war continue tirelessly to undermine the American peace plan for Ukraine, remembered this video from my previous visit: light shining through the storm clouds."
Witkoff and Kushner had met on Friday near Miami with the Ukrainian negotiator Rustam Amirov and representatives from France, Britain, and Germany.
