Senior U.S. and Ukrainian officials concluded their meetings in Florida, which U.S. Secretary Marco Rubio described as “very productive,” though he emphasized that additional work is required to finalize a plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“We had another very productive meeting, building on talks in Geneva and other meetings this week, but more work remains,” Rubio told reporters on November 30, without providing further details.
He also noted that “there is another party involved here that needs to be part of the equation,” referring to Russia.
“We will continue this week as [White House Special Envoy Steve] Witkoff travels to Moscow… we have been in contact with various levels within the Russian side, but it seems we also understand their positions well,” Rubio added.
Ukraine’s National Security Council Secretary and leader of the Kyiv delegation, Rustem Umerov, described the negotiations as “successful,” though he, too, provided few details.
“We concluded a difficult but productive negotiation meeting in Florida. We have made tangible progress toward achieving peace,” Umerov wrote on Telegram.
AFP cited unnamed sources within the Ukrainian team indicating that the talks “have not been easy” and that “the search for wording and solutions continues.”
The negotiating team met in Florida, north of Miami, amid efforts to reach a plan acceptable to both Kyiv and Moscow. Witkoff is scheduled to visit Moscow on December 1 to meet with senior Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin. This will mark Witkoff’s sixth meeting with Putin since January.
On November 30, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on social media that “the U.S. side is showing a constructive approach, and in the coming days it may be possible to outline steps toward a dignified end to the war.”
He later spoke with European Commission and NATO leaders to coordinate positions within the negotiations.
Kyiv and its European allies are reportedly working on an alternative proposal after U.S. officials shared a 28-point plan containing elements Moscow has pushed since the war began in February 2022.
For some Ukrainians, the plan suggests surrender after nearly four years of conflict that has left over one million people dead or injured on both sides.
The initial U.S. proposal reportedly alarmed Ukrainian officials and angered Zelensky, who subsequently held separate discussions with Rubio and other U.S. officials in Geneva. These talks resulted in a revised 19-point plan, which still leaves key issues unresolved, including the future of Ukraine’s Donbas region, Kyiv’s NATO aspirations, and the size of Ukraine’s armed forces.
