US-Ukraine talks on ending conflict see progress

HALLANDALE BEACH, Florida — United States and Ukrainian officials held what both sides called productive talks on Sunday about a peace deal, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressing optimism about progress despite challenges to ending the more than three-year-long conflict.

Rubio met with a Ukrainian delegation led by a new chief negotiator in Florida for talks that he said were meant to create a pathway for Ukraine to remain sovereign and independent.

"We continue to be realistic about how difficult this is, but optimistic, particularly given the fact that as we've made progress, I think there is a shared vision here that this is not just about ending the war," Rubio told reporters after the talks concluded.

"It is about securing Ukraine's future, a future that we hope will be more prosperous than it's ever been."

The discussions were a follow-up to a new set of negotiations that began with a fresh US blueprint for peace.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, were also present, representing the US side. Witkoff leaves on Monday for Moscow, where he is expected to meet his Russian counterparts for talks this week.

"There's more work to be done. This is delicate," Rubio said. "There are a lot of moving parts, and obviously there's another party involved here ... that will have to be a part of the equation, and that will continue later this week, when Mr Witkoff travels to Moscow."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin would meet with Witkoff on Tuesday to discuss ending the conflict.

Trump has expressed frustration at not being able to end the conflict. He pledged as a presidential candidate to do so in one day and has said he was surprised it has been so hard, given what he calls a strong relationship with Putin, who has largely resisted concessions to stop the fighting.

Trump's team has pressured Ukraine to make significant concessions, including giving up territory to Russia.

The talks shifted on Sunday with a leadership change on the Ukrainian side. A new chief negotiator, National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, led the discussions for Kyiv after the resignation on Friday of previous team leader Andriy Yermak, former chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, amid a corruption scandal at home.

'Good chance'

"Ukraine's got some difficult little problems," Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday, referring to the corruption scandal, which he said was "not helpful". He repeated his view that both Russia and Ukraine wanted to end the conflict and said there was a good chance a deal could be reached.

Umerov thanked the US and its officials for their support. "US is hearing us, US is supporting us, US is walking beside us," he said in English as the negotiations began.

After the meeting, he declared it productive. "We discussed all the important matters that are important for Ukraine, for Ukrainian people, and the US was super supportive," he said.

The Sunday talks took place near Miami at a private club, Shell Bay, developed by Witkoff's real estate business.

On Monday, Zelensky met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, seeking to shore up European support.

Despite the diplomatic efforts, fighting on the battlefield shows no signs of easing.

At least four people were killed and 22 others injured in a Russian missile strike on the city of Dnipro in central Ukraine on Monday, a local official said.

Preliminary information showed the attack damaged an enterprise and a car service station, said Vladyslav Haivanenko, acting head of Dnipropetrovsk regional administration, on Telegram, adding that all the injured were hospitalized.

Agencies - Xinhua