The U.S.-led "Ukraine peace initiative" is gathering speed. As the two countries' working-level teams huddle for a third day, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky communicated directly with U.S. President Donald Trump's close associates via a hotline.
On the 6th (local time), according to Reuters, the BBC and other foreign media, President Zelensky spoke by phone with Steve Witkoff, the Middle East–Ukraine peace envoy appointed by President Trump, and Trump's elder son-in-law Jared Kushner. Immediately after the call, Zelensky said on the social media platform X that he had "a long and substantive conversation with the U.S. side," adding, "Ukraine will cooperate with the United States in good faith to achieve a genuine peace."
This call coincided with high-level working talks underway in Florida. The delegation led by Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, has been engaged in a third straight day of marathon negotiations with the U.S. delegation, including Envoy Witkoff. Witkoff earlier traveled to Moscow to meet Russia President Vladimir Putin and was said to have conveyed Putin's message to the Ukrainian side at these talks.
The two sides agreed on the next steps and format for cease-fire talks. Reuters reported that "security guarantees" and the "territorial issue" were also the key items on the table in these negotiations.
Zelensky said they discussed key issues that would ensure an end to bloodshed and eliminate the threat of a renewed Russian invasion. The specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Citing Russia's long record of breaking promises, he said, "All measures for peace, security and reconstruction must be 'workable.'"
Envoy Witkoff said his talks with Secretary Umerov were "constructive," and that they agreed on a security commitments framework and ways to secure deterrence for a sustainable peace.
After coordinating with the United States, Zelensky will hold four-way talks on the 8th in London with France President Emmanuel Macron, United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Germany Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The schedule is aimed at sharing the negotiation details with Europe's major leaders and discussing a postwar security architecture for Ukraine.
President Macron spoke with Zelensky by phone the same day and expressed "full solidarity." Macron said, "France, together with its partners, will work for de-escalation and a cease-fire," adding, "The Ukraine issue is directly linked to the security of all of Europe."