Admin I Thursday, Dec.18.25
MOSCOW — The Kremlin confirmed on Thursday that Russian officials are preparing for high-level talks with United States representatives in Miami this weekend, marking a significant escalation in the Trump administration’s efforts to broker an end to the nearly four-year-old war in Ukraine.
The meeting, first reported by Politico and later acknowledged by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, signal a new chapter of direct engagement between Washington and Moscow.
According to Mr. Peskov, the Russian delegation intends to seek “first-hand information” regarding the outcome of recent U.S. consultations with Ukrainian and European leaders in Berlin.
“We are indeed preparing certain contacts with our American counterparts,” Mr. Peskov told reporters in Moscow.
He added that the talks would focus on the results of the work the U.S. has done with Kyiv and its European allies over a proposed peace framework.
The diplomatic flurry comes at a critical juncture. On Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin struck a dual-track tone, expressing a preference for a diplomatic “addressing of the root causes of the conflict” while simultaneously warning that Russia would “certainly” achieve its territorial objectives by military force if negotiations failed.
While the U.S. and Russia prepare to meet, a Ukrainian delegation led by Rustem Umerov, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, is also expected to be in the United States.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed on Thursday that his team is “already on their way” for talks on Friday and Saturday, though he stopped short of confirming a trilateral meeting.
U.S. officials, including special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, are expected to represent the American side in Miami.
The Russian delegation is reportedly set to include Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund and a long-standing back-channel envoy for Mr. Putin.
Despite the optimism in Washington, the path to a ceasefire remains narrow.
The core of the discussions revolves around a 20-point U.S. draft peace plan. Key sticking points include:
Security Guarantees: Kyiv is seeking “NATO-like” collective defense guarantees, a demand the Kremlin has explicitly rejected.
Territorial Integrity: The Trump administration has reportedly pressed Ukraine to show flexibility on territorial concessions, specifically regarding the Donbas region, a proposal that remains deeply unpopular in Kyiv.
Neutrality: Proposals for Ukraine to adopt a status of “armed neutrality”—outside of NATO but with a path to European Union membership—are being weighed against Moscow’s demands for a permanent reduction in the size of the Ukrainian military.
In Brussels, European leaders met on Thursday to discuss the use of frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s defense through 2026, a move Mr. Putin has characterized as “theft.” President Zelenskyy, addressing the European Council, urged allies to send a clear signal to Moscow that “continuing its war is pointless.”
As negotiators descend on Florida, the world’s attention shifts to whether a neutral site in the American tropics can provide the breakthrough that has eluded Geneva, Minsk, and Istanbul.
