Negotiations between Ukrainian and American officials on Washington’s plan to find a solution to the war in Ukraine were “productive”, according to the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, but difficult, according to Ukrainian negotiators.
“There is still a lot of work to be done, but today’s meeting was very productive and useful“, the head of US diplomacy told journalists this Sunday, at the end of the meeting with Ukrainian representatives, in Florida, in which the terms of a possible peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia were discussed. “I believe we have made additional progress,” added the North American official.
The conversations, however, They were not easy, according to a source close to the Ukrainian delegation to France-Presse (AFP). “The process is not easy because the search for solutions continues”said the source, noting, however, that the discussion was “constructive” and that “everyone wants a concrete result to provide material for future negotiations between the United States and Russia.”
Envoys from Kiev and North American representatives met this Sunday in Florida, in the United States (USA), to discuss the peace plan promoted by Washington for the war in Ukraine, started by Russia in February 2022.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, were present at the meeting. The Ukrainian delegation was led by Secretary of the Security Council of Ukraine Rustem Umerov.
Another source told AFP that the Americans, during the discussions, wanted “the final points (of the plan) to be agreed and to be able to go to Moscow”.
“The formulation of the points is complicated, especially with regard to the territories because the Americans see themselves exclusively as mediators and not as a party” that supports Kiev, added this other source. “So finding an acceptable formulation is problematic,” he continued, insisting that everyone is trying to be constructive and find a solution.
The same source also stated that North American representatives were putting “some pressure” on Ukrainian negotiators to accept an agreement.
10 days ago, the US presented a 28-point plan aimed at ending the conflict triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Washington’s peace plan released in mid-November, which included Moscow’s main demands, was initially welcomed by the Kremlin, but underwent changes following negotiations between North Americans, Ukrainians and Europeans in Geneva, Switzerland.
The initial version of the plan raised strong concerns in Kiev because it included measures such as the ceding of territories, the reduction of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the renunciation of NATO membership.