Both United States and Ukrainian officials said peace talks in Florida were a step in the right direction, but that more still needs to be done.
"Much work remains, but today was, again, a very productive and useful session where I think additional progress was made," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
Ukraine’s delegation was led by national security council secretary Rutem Umerov, who met with Robio, special envoy Steve Wifkoff and U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jaren Kushner, who served as an unofficial advisor.
While Rubio didn’t reveal specifics about the negotiations to reporters, he did say that the goal was to end the war and set Ukraine up for “prosperity”.
“We don't just want to end the war; we also want to help Ukraine be safe forever, so never again will they face another invasion, and equally importantly, we want them to enter an age of true prosperity,” Rubio said.
Following the meeting, Umerov expressed gratitude to the U.S.
"U.S. is hearing us, U.S. is supporting us, U.S. is walking beside us," Umerov said.
Umerov also characterised the meeting as “productive” and “successful”, echoing Rubio’s sentiments of prosperity for Ukraine.
"Our objective is a prosperous, strong Ukraine,” he said.
"We discussed all the important matters that are important for Ukraine, for Ukrainian people, and the U.S. was super supportive.”
This comes after Trump encouraged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to agree to a 28-point plan that would give Russia more land.
Zelenskyy posted to X that the most recent talks between the U.S. and Ukraine were successful.
“I am grateful to the United States, to President Trump’s team, and to the President personally for the time that is being invested so intensively in defining the steps to end the war,” he said.
Witkoff is expected to travel to Moscow in the coming days, while Zelenskyy is expected to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday.
In a post to Truth Social, Trump said Witkoff will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin while Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll meets with Ukrainians.
