Ukrainian negotiators meet Witkoff, Kushner to discuss potential leaders' meeting
Ukrainian negotiators met with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and other officials for the third time during the two-day talks in Paris, top security official Rustem Umerov said on Jan. 7.
Umerov, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said the talks centered on the peace framework and "further contacts at the leaders' level involving Ukraine, European partners, and the United States."
The comments follow the Coalition of the Willing summit on Jan. 6, which concluded with the U.K. and France signing a declaration on deploying a multinational force in Ukraine after the war.
The U.S., which leads the push to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, reportedly did not sign a joint statement promising robust security guarantees to Ukraine, even though Witkoff hailed "significant progress on several critical workstreams."
The Ukrainian team meeting U.S. envoys on Jan. 7 also included Andrii Hnatov, the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine; Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Presidential Office; his first deputy, Serhii Kyslytsia; David Arakhamia, the parliamentary leader of the Servant of the People party; and presidential advisor Oleksandr Bevz.
Zelensky previously said the third round of Umerov-led talks with U.S. officials would focus on "the most difficult issues" within the peace framework, specifically territories and the status of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
Umerov noted that he is preparing a report for the president on the results.
Moscow currently occupies roughly 20% of Ukraine's territory, including the Zaporizhzhia plant, the largest nuclear power facility in Europe.
Russia also demands that Ukraine withdraw from the partially occupied Donbas region in the east and international recognition of its control over Ukrainian territory. Kyiv has rejected these conditions.
The Ukrainian leader previously met U.S. President Donald Trump in Miami on Dec. 28 to discuss the 20-point peace framework drafted in a series of talks between Ukrainian, U.S., and European officials.
