The White House is not resigned to ending the war in Ukraine. The President of the United States Donald Trump, who is where he escapes on weekends to play golf, has ordered his team to reactivate negotiations to find a solution to the war conflict that has lasted for almost four years. For this reason, this Sunday the main negotiators of the Trump Administration are scheduled to meet with senior Ukrainian officials in Florida to try to unblock.
Marco Rubio, Secretary of State, leads the negotiations on the American side, in which Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, who participates in all the major diplomatic summits, also participates; Daniel Driscoll, secretary of the army, who has the job of talking to the Ukrainians, and a character who is taking an unexpected role in the conversations with the Russians. The Ukrainian delegation is headed by Rustem Umerov, head of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.
The meeting occurs after the latest attempt by the Trump Administration. The White House launched its latest diplomatic offensive 10 days ago with a 28-point document that was to serve as a roadmap for negotiations. Since then, talks between the parties have intensified with the United States in the role of mediator.
However, it included some Russian demands that were unacceptable to kyiv. The document contained kyiv’s renunciation of Luhansk, Donetsk and Crimea, including territories not militarily conquered by Moscow. It also required Ukraine’s resignation to join NATO or the EU and the limitation of its army. The proposal has angered the Ukrainian authorities, who consider that the proposal has been designed by Russia because it only responds to its interests. European allies have moved to align themselves with Volodymyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine, even several Republican congressmen have warned of excessive Russian influence in the process.
Ukraine’s diplomatic movements with the support of major European countries managed to clarify some of the points of the peace plan, but . During an appearance last week in Kyrgyzstan, he said, laying down the White House’s 28-point draft: “There was no peace plan, there was a list of issues that have been proposed to be discussed.” The Russian president has stated that the original document “can lay the foundations for future agreements,” but has warned that some Ukrainian proposals “sound ridiculous.” Putin does not seem willing to accelerate the agreement, knowing that time is in his favor: “Every word of the peace plan for Ukraine must be seriously debated,” he indicated.
The negotiations also take place under unequal conditions and at a time of extreme weakness for Zelensky, harassed by cases of corruption in his environment. His right-hand man has had to resign due to corruption accusations. The departure of this chief of staff is a significant loss for Zelensky. This senior official had participated in the high-level negotiations held last weekend in Geneva with the presence of Marco Rubio. In addition, the talks take place as winter is beginning and when Moscow is intensifying attacks on Ukrainian power plants, leaving thousands of families in that country without light and the ability to heat themselves, exposed to harsh weather conditions.
Another of the hot points of the meeting has to do with the presence of Steve Witkoff, one of the most active American negotiators and the men closest to President Trump. Witkoff attends the meeting in the midst of controversy over the leak of a phone call in which he appears advising a senior Russian official on how to negotiate with Trump and to anticipate a planned visit by Zelensky to the White House.
Therefore, the meeting seeks to remove the impression that the Trump Administration has positioned itself in favor of Moscow and favors Putin’s interests.
“It is about putting an end to a war by creating a mechanism and a path forward that allows them to be independent and sovereign, not to have another war and generate enormous prosperity for their people,” Rubio said this Sunday at the beginning of the meeting with the Ukrainian diplomats.
Rustem Umerov, head of Defense of Ukraine, who led the delegation of this country, wrote on the social network He added: “We are working to ensure real peace for Ukraine and reliable, long-term security guarantees.” Umerov assured that he is in direct contact with Zelensky to inform him about the progress of the negotiations.
