US and Ukraine officials to meet for third day after security framework progress

US President Donald Trump’s advisers and Ukrainian officials say they will meet for a third day of talks on Saturday after making progress on finding agreement on a security framework for post-war Ukraine.

The two sides also offered the sober assessment that any “real progress toward any agreement” will ultimately depend “on Russia’s readiness to show serious commitment to long-term peace”.

The statement from US special envoy Steve Witkoff, Mr Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner as well as Ukrainian negotiators Rustem Umerov and Andriy Hnatov came after they met for a second day in Florida on Friday.

They offered only broad brushstrokes about the progress they say has been made as Mr Trump pushes Kyiv and Moscow to agree to a US-mediated proposal to end nearly four years of war.

“Both parties agreed that real progress toward any agreement depends on Russia’s readiness to show serious commitment to long-term peace, including steps toward de-escalation and cessation of killings,” the statement said.

“Parties also separately reviewed the future prosperity agenda which aims to support Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction, joint US–Ukraine economic initiatives, and long-term recovery projects.”

The US and Ukrainian officials also discussed “deterrence capabilities” that Ukraine will need “to sustain a lasting peace”.

Mr Witkoff and Mr Kushner’s talks in Florida with Mr Umerov, Ukraine’s lead negotiator, and Mr Hnatov follow discussions between President Vladimir Putin and the US envoys at the Kremlin on Tuesday.

Friday’s session took place at the Shell Bay Club in Hallandale Beach, a high-end private golf and lifestyle destination owned by Mr Witkoff’s property development company.

Previous diplomatic attempts to break the deadlock have come to nothing and the war has continued unabated. Officials largely have kept a lid on how the latest talks are going, though Mr Trump’s initial 28-point plan was leaked.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country’s delegation in Florida wanted to hear from the US side about the talks at the Kremlin.

Mr Zelensky, as well as European leaders backing him, have repeatedly accused Mr Putin of stalling in peace talks while the Russian army tries to press forward with its invasion.

Mr Zelensky said in a video address late on Thursday that officials wanted to know “what other pretexts Putin has come up with to drag out the war and to pressure Ukraine”.

Speaking to Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin on Friday, Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov praised Mr Kushner as potentially playing an important role in ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Mr Ushakov also took part in Tuesday’s talks at the Kremlin.

“If any plan leading to a settlement is put on paper, it will be the pen of Mr Kushner that will lead the way,” Mr Ushakov said.

The flattering comments about Mr Kushner by the senior Russian official come as Mr Putin has sought to sow division between Mr and Ukraine and Europe at a moment when Mr Trump’s impatience with the conflict is mounting.

Mr Putin said his five-hour talks this week with Mr Witkoff and Mr Kushner were “necessary” and “useful”, but some proposals were unacceptable.

Mr Kushner, who is married to Mr Trump’s daughter Ivanka, was a senior adviser to Mr Trump during his first term and was the president’s point person on developing the Abraham Accords, which formalised commercial and diplomatic ties between Israel and a trio of Arab nations.

Mr Ushakov, who accompanied Putin on a visit to India on Friday, repeated the Russian president’s recent criticism of Europe’s stance on the peace talks. Kyiv’s European allies are concerned about possible Russian aggression beyond Ukraine and want a prospective peace deal to include strong security guarantees.

Kyiv’s allies in Europe are “constantly putting forward demands that are unacceptable to Moscow,” Mr Ushakov told Russia’s state-owned Zvezda TV. “Putting it mildly, the Europeans don’t help Washington and Moscow reach a settlement on the Ukrainian issues.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that he made progress during a visit to Beijing on getting Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s support for peace efforts.

“We exchanged deeply and truthfully on all points, and I saw a willingness from the (Chinese) president to contribute to stability and peace,” Mr Macron said.

The French president said he stressed that Ukraine needs guarantees that Russia will not attack it again if a settlement is reached and that Europe must have a voice in negotiations.

“The unity between Americans and Europeans on the Ukrainian issue is essential. And I say it, repeat it, emphasise it. We need to work together,” Mr Macron said.