US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev on Saturday in Miami, Florida. With the participation of other American representatives, they negotiated the end of the war in Ukraine. Both of them described the meeting as constructive and productive on the X social network. TASR informs about it.
- American and Russian envoys discussed ending the war in Ukraine in Miami.
- The participants described the meeting as constructive and productive.
- Further peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are planned in Abu Dhabi.
- A key point of contention is Russia’s demand for the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donbass.
- Russia has temporarily suspended attacks on energy infrastructure at Trump’s request.
“This meeting is an encouragement to us that Russia is working to secure peace in Ukraine, and we are grateful for the decisive leadership of the US president in the search for lasting and sustainable peace,” wrote Witkoff on X. In addition to him, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and White House adviser Josh Gruenbaum attended the meeting for the American side.
In his contribution, Dmitriev informed that he had a constructive conversation with “American Peace Delegation” and that he also had a productive discussion on economic matters between Russia and the US.
The talks in Miami took place ahead of the next round of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, scheduled for Sunday in Abu Dhabi. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi previously indicated that both the date and the place could still change due to the development of the situation between the US and Iran. However, according to the source of the TASS agency, the meeting has not been canceled yet.
Zelenskyj apparently also in response to Wednesday’s statement by the head of American diplomacy, Marco Rubio, that Witkoff and Kushner will not participate in the next meeting in Abu Dhabi, he emphasized that it is very important for Ukraine that everyone with whom they agreed to be present at the negotiations.
Talks in Abu Dhabi, which resumed after a long break last weekend with the participation of a US delegation, are to explore options for ending the war in Ukraine. Both warring parties described the discussions so far as constructive, but an agreement on a peace treaty has not yet been reached.
A key point of contention is Russia’s demand that Kyiv withdraw its troops from eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region, which includes Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Moscow claims the entire Donetsk region, although it controls almost 80 percent of its territory. Neighboring The Luhansk region is almost completely under the control of Russian troops. Kiev refuses to give up these territories. Zelensky insists that only a personal meeting with Putin can resolve territorial issues.
At Trump’s request, Russia agreed to temporarily suspend attacks on energy infrastructure in Ukraine. Trump cited extremely cold weather in Ukraine and widespread damage in Kyiv and other cities as the reason for his request. Russian attacks on other targets – especially logistical ones – in Ukraine continue, the DPA agency added. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that the limited ceasefire would last only until Sunday, February 1, and was intended to create “good conditions” for peace talks in Abu Dhabi.
