Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Steve Witkoff, a special envoy of the United States. File photo: Pool via Reuters
U.S. and Russian officials will meet in Miami this weekend for new talks on President Donald Trump’s plan for ending the Ukraine war, a White House official told AFP Wednesday (December 17, 2025).
The talks come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed progress during two days of meetings in Berlin between Kyiv and Mr. Trump’s envoys, while warning that Moscow was preparing for a “new year of war.”
Mr. Trump’s roving envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to take part on the U.S. side, while Mr. Putin’s economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev is set to be in the Russian delegation, Politico reported.
The White House official did not give details of the U.S. and Russian teams.
There has been a flurry of international diplomacy in recent weeks to end Russia’s nearly four-year-old invasion, with Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Kushner having met Mr. Putin in the Kremlin in November and the Ukrainians and European leaders in Berlin.
But large differences remain all around.
Ukraine and the United States say there has been progress on the question of future security guarantees for Kyiv, but there are disagreements on what territory Ukraine would have to cede.
Putin, meanwhile, said on Wednesday (December 17) that Moscow would “certainly” achieve its objectives in the war, including seizing the territories it claims are its own.
Published – December 18, 2025 10:17 am IST
