Senior advisers to U.S. President Donald Trump held talks Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and national security advisers from Britain, France and Germany as diplomatic efforts intensified to shape next steps toward ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said the discussions focused on advancing President Trump’s peace initiative in a practical manner, including strengthening security guarantees and developing effective deconfliction mechanisms aimed at preventing a resumption of hostilities.
“We focused on how to move the discussions forward in a practical way on behalf of @POTUS’ peace process, including strengthening security guarantees and developing effective deconfliction mechanisms to help end the war and ensure it does not restart,” Witkoff said in a social media post.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Ukraine’s top negotiator Rustem Umerov also took part in the talks, according to Witkoff.
Zelenskyy said earlier this week that national security advisers from Kyiv’s “Coalition of the Willing” supporters would meet in Ukraine on Saturday, followed by a gathering of national leaders in France on Jan. 6.
The coalition, led by the United Kingdom and France, includes more than 30 countries, although it remains unclear which nations will participate in the upcoming meetings.
Separately, Umerov said Wednesday that Ukraine coordinated positions with the United States and its European allies during telephone discussions with national security advisers. Writing on Telegram, he said he briefed Zelenskyy on the talks, while Witkoff’s account indicated that the Ukrainian president participated directly in the discussions.
“We coordinated positions and planned further meetings with European and American partners in January,” Umerov wrote, adding that work would continue in the New Year to achieve “tangible” results toward resolving the war between Ukraine and Russia.
