Ukraine Talks with Russia Remain Productive According to US Envoy Witkoff

US Special Envoy Meets with Russian Envoys Ahead of Abu Dhabi Talks

A meeting between US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev took place in Florida on Saturday, according to a statement released by Witkoff. The two envoys held “productive and constructive meetings” as part of the US administration’s efforts to negotiate an end to Russia’s conflict with Ukraine.

The meeting was attended by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Jared Kushner, and White House adviser Josh Gruenbaum. A second round of talks between Ukrainian and Russian negotiators, facilitated by US mediators, is scheduled for Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

A first round of US-mediated talks was held in the United Arab Emirates’ capital last week, marking the first direct public negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv since the early weeks of the war. President Donald Trump announced that his request to Russian President Vladimir Putin not to attack Ukraine’s energy infrastructure had been accepted by the Kremlin.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed on Friday that the issue of a ceasefire on energy infrastructure attacks was discussed during last week’s talks, and expressed expectations for the agreements to be implemented. The Ukrainian leader also stated that neither Moscow nor Kyiv conducted strikes on energy targets from Thursday night onwards.

The US-backed plan to end the war remains a point of contention, with several sticking points including Russia’s demand for Ukrainian forces to withdraw from about one-fifth of the Donetsk region and the potential deployment of international peacekeepers in Ukraine after the war.

Source: Al Jazeera