Russian envoy meets US officials for Ukraine peace talks before next round of trilateral negotiations
Russian Envoy Kirill Dmitriev held "productive and constructive meetings" with U.S. officials in Miami, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said on Jan. 31.
A White House official on Jan. 30 told the Kyiv Independent that Dmitriev would meet with members of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration as Washington continues efforts to broker peace in Ukraine.
The U.S. delegation consisted of Witkoff, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, and White House Senior Advisor Josh Gruenbaum.
The bilateral talks were "part of the U.S. mediation effort toward advancing a peaceful resolution of" Russia's war against Ukraine, Witkoff said in a post to X.
Kyiv and Moscow are set to hold their next round of peace negotiations on Feb. 1 in Abu Dhabi following the Russia-U.S. meeting. Dmitriev previously took part in trilateral peace talks held Jan. 23-24.
As the U.S. bolsters efforts to broker a peace deal, Russia continues to strike civilian and energy infrastructure, leaving Ukrainians without heating in the cold winter weather.
Trump announced on Jan. 29 that he convinced Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop striking Ukrainian cities for a week amid the dire humanitarian situation.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov later claimed that the truce only covered Kyiv and will last until Feb. 1.
On Jan. 31, at least five people were killed, and 19 others were injured in Russian attacks against Ukraine, local authorities reported.
Meanwhile, Russia also halted the process of prisoners of war (POW) exchanges despite ongoing diplomatic efforts, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Jan. 30, in comments reported by Ukrinform.
"They do not feel that it gives them anything. They believe that it gives us something. But I think they should also think about their people, their military," he said.
