Trump Team Claims Progress in Ukraine Peace Talks with European Allies

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff announced that recent talks in Florida between American, Ukrainian, and European officials have yielded substantial progress toward establishing a structured peace framework for ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, signaling that negotiations may be entering a decisive phase.

“Over the last three days in Florida, the Ukrainian delegation held a series of productive and constructive meetings with American and European partners,” Witkoff stated in a post on X. The Ukrainian delegation included Rustem Umerov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, and Lieutenant General Andriy Hnatov, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The American team was represented by Special Envoy Witkoff, former presidential advisor Jared Kushner, and White House staff member Josh Gruenbaum, along with key national security advisors from various European nations.

According to Witkoff, a separate meeting between U.S. and Ukrainian officials focused on four critical documents: further development of a 20-point plan, alignment on a multilateral security guarantee framework, alignment on a U.S. security guarantee framework for Ukraine, and continued development of an economic and prosperity plan. Discussions also addressed timelines and the sequencing of next steps.

“Ukraine remains fully committed to achieving a just and sustainable peace,” Witkoff emphasized. “Our shared priority is to stop the killing, ensure guaranteed security, and create conditions for Ukraine’s recovery, stability, and long-term prosperity.”

These developments come on the heels of Finnish President Alexander Stubb’s assessment that negotiators are closer than at any point during the nearly three-year conflict to securing a peace deal. Speaking on “The Sunday Briefing,” Stubb credited U.S. diplomacy and economic pressure from sanctions on Russian oil as key factors pushing the talks forward.

“We’re probably closer to reaching a peace agreement than we have been at any time of this war,” Stubb remarked, adding that Kushner and Witkoff have been “working around the clock” to narrow differences between the warring sides.

Stubb highlighted two significant outcomes from recent high-level talks in Berlin: a unified stance among Europe, Ukraine, and the United States in pursuing a just and lasting peace, and progress on security guarantees for Ukraine. Despite this progress, he cautioned that “the most difficult 5% are still left” in the negotiation process.

The Finnish president noted that while Russia’s private negotiating position may be more flexible than President Vladimir Putin’s public statements suggest, Moscow’s fundamental objective remains undermining Ukraine’s sovereignty. He emphasized that continuing economic pressure on Russia has made the Western negotiating strategy increasingly effective.

U.S. sanctions targeting Russian oil giants Lukoil and Rosneft have been particularly impactful on the Russian economy. Stubb warned that if Russia were to reject a peace framework agreed upon by Ukraine, Europe, and the United States, “that’s when it’s time to hike up the sanctions, because they work.”

The recent talks represent a potentially significant shift in the diplomatic landscape surrounding the Ukraine conflict, which has claimed thousands of lives and displaced millions since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Western allies appear increasingly unified in their approach, coordinating closely on both diplomatic initiatives and economic pressure tactics.

For Ukraine, the stakes of these negotiations couldn’t be higher. The framework being discussed not only aims to end active hostilities but also to establish long-term security guarantees and economic recovery plans essential for the country’s future stability.

As negotiations enter what Stubb described as their most challenging final stage, the international community watches closely to see if this diplomatic momentum can translate into a meaningful resolution to Europe’s largest armed conflict since World War II.