Ukraine's Umerov to meet Witkoff, Kushner in US on Dec. 4 following Moscow talks
Editor's note: This article has been updated with the latest information by Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., Olha Stefanishyna.
Rustem Umerov, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, is set to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on Dec. 4 in Miami to discuss peace talks stemming from Russia's war in Ukraine, Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., told reporters.
"Rustem Umerov, the head of the delegation, who has no other job but to negotiate with American and European allies, will land in the U.S. tomorrow to meet with the delegation again," Stefanishyna was quoted as saying.
The development comes as President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address that Kyiv expects news in the coming days regarding the timeline for the next round of meetings.
"We’re preparing meetings in the United States – after the American team returns from Moscow and following the relevant consultations in Washington," Zelensky said.
"Everything is now proceeding quite effectively – at meetings in Geneva and Florida, Ukraine was heard, and Ukraine was listened to. And that matters. We expect it will continue exactly this way," the president said.
The reported meeting will follow Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner's visit to Moscow to discuss a revised U.S.-Ukraine peace plan with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Top Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, who participated in the talks, described the meeting as "very useful, constructive, and highly substantive," but noted that no concrete agreement was reached.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Dec. 3, U.S. President Donald Trump referred the meeting between the U.S. delegation and Putin as productive.
"I don't know what the Kremlin is doing. I can tell you that (the U.S. delegation) had a reasonably good meeting with President Putin," Trump said. "What comes out of that meeting, I can't tell you, because it does take two to tango."
Umerov and Andrii Hnatov, the chief of staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces, led the Ukrainian delegation that discussed the U.S.-backed peace plan with Kushner, Witkoff, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Florida on Nov. 30, and Umerov and Witkoff held another meeting a day later.
In earlier comments to reporters in Brussels, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Dec. 3 that Kyiv has received an invitation to the United States for additional talks, and that Ukraine has not been fully briefed on the outcome of the the talks.
"There was contact between the head of the Ukrainian delegation and Steve Witkoff. But since it was a phone contact, for security reasons, it would be difficult to imagine discussing the details of this meeting, as it is a sensitive process," Sybiha told European Pravda.
The Kyiv Independent has reached out to the White House for confirmation.
It was not immediately clear as to whether other members of Ukraine's delegation, including the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Andrii Hnatov, will join Umerov in the latest round of discussions.
Earlier in the day on Dec. 3, Ukrainian negotiators met with European national security advisers to discuss peace efforts, Zelensky said. The meeting follows Umerov and Hnatov briefing of European officials on the Moscow a day earlier.
NATO foreign ministers — with the notable exception of Rubio — also met in Brussels on Dec. 3 for a session that will also include a Ukraine-NATO Council meeting.
European nations have previously expressed their concern with the initial 28-point peace plan, having been blindsided by the controversial U.S. plan.
Axios journalist Barak Ravid reported on Dec. 2 that after their Moscow trip, Kushner and Witkoff were expected to meet Zelensky in an unspecified European country. Ukraine's president traveled to France and Ireland earlier in the week.
After the talks Moscow concluded, Ushakov claimed that the two U.S. envoys "promised they wouldn't go to Kyiv, but they promised they'd return home" to Washington.
The series of high-level talks takes place amid Kyiv's push to negotiate more favorable conditions for the Trump administration's 28-point peace plan, which, in its original form, imposed harsh terms on Kyiv, including a cap on its military, a ban on joining NATO, and territorial concessions.
Axios journalist Barak Ravid reported on Dec. 2 that after their Moscow trip, Kushner and Witkoff were expected to meet Zelensky in an unspecified European country. Ukraine's president traveled to France and Ireland earlier in the week.
After the talks Moscow concluded, Ushakov claimed that the two U.S. envoys "promised they wouldn't go to Kyiv, but they promised they'd return home" to Washington.
"As always, Ukraine will work constructively in pursuit of a real peace," Zelensky said on X. "I expect a new report following the results of today's meetings in Europe."
