US & Ukraine Officials Hold Productive Miami Talks; Trump Envoy Meets Putin on Peace Plan for Ukraine

US & Ukraine Officials Hold Productive Miami Talks on Peace Initiative

In a significant diplomatic development, US special envoy Steve Witkoff and former White House advisor Jared Kushner engaged in productive discussions with Ukraine's senior negotiator, Rustem Umerov, in Miami, Florida, on December 4, 2025. A White House official confirmed the talks yielded progress, with further meetings scheduled for December 5.

Briefing on Moscow Engagement

These high-level discussions in Miami served primarily to brief Ukrainian representatives on a crucial earlier meeting involving Witkoff, Kushner, and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Earlier in the week, the US envoys spent five hours with Putin in the Kremlin, focusing on a US-backed peace initiative aimed at resolving the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which Russia invaded in 2022.

"Truly Friendly" Discussions with Putin

The Kremlin's top foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, characterized the Putin-Witkoff discussions as "truly friendly" and "very useful," indicating a positive understanding had been reached. While the Miami sessions were not formal negotiations for the peace plan, they represented essential preliminary talks agreed upon by US and Ukrainian officials even before the Moscow engagement. The precise location of these Miami meetings remains undisclosed, adding an element of discretion to the diplomatic efforts.