Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced after meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump’s special representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner that the Ukraine-Russia negotiation process could be restarted. The discussions covered options for ending the war and reviving the diplomatic process.
Zelenskyy said the main issues, including the territorial question, could be resolved only by the countries’ leaders. He said Ukraine wanted to end the war and stressed that this needed to be supported by security and economic guarantees.
Security guarantees and economic plan
Zelenskyy described keeping Ukraine’s armed forces strong as one of the fundamental elements of security and said resources were needed to achieve this goal. The discussions with the U.S. representatives also covered Ukraine’s prosperity plan and problems that could emerge after the war.
Zelenskyy called for clear and strong guarantees to prevent a new war from breaking out in the future. He said Ukraine’s economic future and security needed to be addressed together with these guarantees.
Donbas’s place in the negotiations
Zelenskyy argued that Ukraine had grown stronger on the front over the past 10 to 12 months and said this created an opportunity to seek a diplomatic solution. He said positions in Donbas constituted an advanced defensive line for Ukraine on many issues.
Zelenskyy said the Donbas issue was not limited to the region and was linked to the overall course of the war and the territorial dispute. He said Ukraine had strengthened its position on the front, particularly in the east.
Kyiv’s two plans
Zelenskyy announced that they had prepared two separate plans for the coming months. The first aims to reduce the terror caused by the war by accelerating diplomatic processes, while the second seeks to improve defenses against ballistic missiles and strengthen the mass production of systems designed to intercept unmanned aerial vehicles.
First round completed, second round in preparation
The first round of talks between the Ukrainian and U.S. delegations has been completed. Zelenskyy and Trump’s special representatives Witkoff and Kushner took part in the talks, during which two panel sessions were held.
Kushner said Trump’s goal was not only to end the war but also to create the conditions for lasting peace in Ukraine. He said future agreements needed to eliminate the possibility of a new war and enable Ukraine to direct the strength and creativity it had demonstrated during the war years toward the country’s development.
Witkoff described the meeting as comprehensive and important. The U.S. representatives said they would continue working to advance the negotiations.
National security advisers from the United Kingdom, France and Germany are also expected to participate in the second round of talks.
