US, Russian officials meet in Miami for talks on Ukraine war

Negotiators from Russia and the United States person met successful the US metropolis of Miami arsenic Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Washington to ramp up the unit connected Moscow to extremity its warfare connected Ukraine.

The gathering connected Saturday took spot betwixt Russian President Vladimir Putin’s peculiar envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, and US President Donald Trump’s peculiar envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

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Dmitriev told the reporters the talks were affirmative and would proceed connected Sunday.

“The discussions are proceeding constructively,” said Dmitriev. “They began earlier and volition proceed today, and volition besides proceed tomorrow.”

Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said that helium whitethorn besides articulation the talks successful Miami. He said that advancement has been made successful discussions to extremity the war, but determination is inactive a mode to go.

“The relation we’re trying to play is simply a relation of figuring retired whether there’s immoderate overlap present that they tin hold to, and that’s what we’ve invested a batch of clip and vigor [on], and proceed to bash so,” Rubio said. “That whitethorn not beryllium possible. I anticipation it is. I anticipation it tin get done this month, earlier the extremity of the year.”

Trump’s envoys person for weeks been negotiating a 20-point bid program with Ukrainian, Russian and European officials.

While US ​officials accidental they person made progress, large differences stay connected the issues of territory and imaginable security guarantees that Kyiv says are indispensable for immoderate agreement.

Russia has shown fewer signs that it is consenting to springiness up its expansive territorial demands successful Ukraine, which it believes it is well-positioned to unafraid arsenic the war grinds on and governmental fractures look among Ukraine’s European allies.

In Kyiv, Zelenskyy said helium remains supportive of a US-led negotiations process, but that diplomacy needs to beryllium accompanied by greater unit connected Russia.

“America indispensable intelligibly say, if not diplomacy, past determination volition beryllium afloat pressure… Putin does not yet consciousness the benignant of unit that should exist,” helium said.

The Ukrainian person said Washington has besides projected a caller format for talks with Russia, comprised of three-way talks astatine the level of nationalist information advisers from Ukraine, Russia, and the US.

Zelenskyy expressed scepticism that the talks would effect successful “anything new”, but said helium would enactment trilateral discussions if they led to advancement successful areas specified arsenic captive swaps oregon a gathering of nationalist leaders.

“If specified a ‍meeting could beryllium ⁠held present to let for swaps of prisoners of war, oregon if a gathering of nationalist information advisers achieves statement connected a leaders’ meeting… I cannot beryllium opposed. We would enactment specified a US proposal. Let’s spot however things go,” helium said.

The past clip Ukrainian and Russian envoys held authoritative nonstop talks was successful July successful Istanbul, which led to captive swaps but small else.

The talks successful Miami travel aft Putin promised to property up with his subject violative successful Ukraine, hailing Moscow’s battlefield gains successful an yearly quality league connected Friday.

Putin, however, suggested that Russia could intermission its devastating strikes connected the state to let Ukraine to clasp a statesmanlike ballot, a imaginable that Zelenskyy rejected.

Meanwhile, the decease toll successful Ukraine’s Black Sea Odesa portion from an overnight Russian ballistic rocket onslaught connected larboard infrastructure roseate to eight, with 30 radical wounded.

A civilian autobus was struck successful the attack, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said.

The Russian attacks connected the coastline portion person wrought havoc successful caller weeks, hitting bridges and cutting energy and heating for hundreds of thousands successful freezing temperatures.

Moscow earlier said it would grow strikes connected Ukrainian ports arsenic retaliation for targeting its sanctions-busting lipid tankers.

On Saturday, Ukraine claimed to person destroyed 2 Russian combatant jets astatine an airfield successful Moscow-occupied Crimea, according to the information work SBU. Kyiv’s service said it struck a Russian lipid rig successful the Caspian Sea arsenic good arsenic a patrol vessel nearby.

Putin described Russia’s archetypal full-scale penetration of Ukraine arsenic a “special subject operation” to “demilitarise” the state and forestall the enlargement of NATO.

Kyiv and its European allies accidental the war, the largest and deadliest connected European ungraded since World War II, is an unprovoked and amerciable onshore drawback that has resulted successful a tidal question of unit and destruction.