Hallandale Beach (United States) (AFP) – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday hosted high stakes talks with a Ukrainian delegation on Washington’s plan to end Russia’s war with its neighbor — discussions a source close to Kyiv’s team characterized as “not easy.” The talks in Florida come as Kyiv faces mounting military and political pressure, along with the fallout from a corruption scandal. They could set the stage for next week’s visit to Moscow by President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, who is expected to discuss Ukraine diplomacy.
“This is not just about peace deals. It’s about creating a pathway forward that leaves Ukraine sovereign, independent and prosperous,” Rubio said at the start of the negotiations. Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were also attending the meeting in Hallandale Beach, north of Miami. Ukraine’s security council secretary Rustem Umerov led Kyiv’s delegation, which also included Andrii Hnatov, the chief of staff of Ukraine’s armed forces, and presidential adviser Oleksandr Bevz.
“We are discussing about the future of Ukraine, about the security of Ukraine, about no repetition of aggression of Ukraine, about prosperity of Ukraine, about how to rebuild Ukraine,” Umerov said as the talks kicked off. A source close to the Kyiv delegation, however, cautioned that “the process is not easy because the search for formulations and solutions continues.” The exchanges had nevertheless been “constructive,” the source told AFP.
The US talks come amid turbulence for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his government. A blockbuster corruption probe forced him to sack his chief of staff and top negotiator, Andriy Yermak, on Friday. Rubio had met with Yermak only a week ago during another round of talks in Geneva. In a separate post on the platform X, Umerov said he was in “constant contact” with Zelensky as the Florida meeting progressed. “We have clear directives and priorities: safeguarding Ukrainian interests, ensuring substantive dialogue, and advancing on the basis of the progress achieved in Geneva,” Umerov wrote. “We are working to secure real peace for Ukraine and reliable, long-term security guarantees.”
– Flurry of diplomacy – Washington has put forward a plan to end the nearly four-year conflict and is seeking to finalize it with Moscow and Kyiv’s approval. An initial 28-point proposal — drafted without input from Ukraine’s European allies — would have seen Kyiv withdraw from its eastern Donetsk region and the United States de facto recognize the Donetsk, Crimea and Lugansk regions as Russian. The United States pared back the original draft following criticism from Kyiv and Europe, but the current contents remain unclear.
After the Florida negotiations, French President Emmanuel Macron is set to host Zelensky for talks in Paris on Monday. Separately next week, Rubio is set to skip a meeting of NATO foreign ministers despite allies’ concerns about the US plan for Ukraine. However, Witkoff is expected in Moscow to discuss Ukraine diplomacy. The flurry of diplomacy comes as the war — which has killed tens of thousands of civilians and military personnel and displaced millions of Ukrainians — shows no sign of easing.
– Russian oil terminal hit – Ahead of the Florida talks, Russia’s forces targeted Ukraine’s capital and the region for two nights in a row as they advanced on the front line. A drone attack in the outskirts of Kyiv killed one person and wounded 11 on Saturday night, the regional governor said. Hours earlier, a Ukrainian security source said Kyiv was responsible for attacks on two oil tankers in the Black Sea that it believed were covertly transporting sanctioned Russian oil. One of Russia’s largest oil terminals halted operations on Saturday following an attack by sea drones. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), a group that includes US oil majors Chevron and ExxonMobil and which owns the terminal, called the strike a “terrorist attack”.
Ukraine, which did not comment on the incident, regularly targets Russian energy facilities in a bid to sap the country’s war chest as the conflict grinds through its fourth year. The CPC pipeline, which begins in Kazakhstan and ends at the terminal, is a major conduit for Kazakh oil and one of the world’s largest by volume, handling around one percent of global supplies.
© 2024 AFP
