Zelenskiy's warning ahead of Trump's emissary Steve Witkoff's visit to the Kremlin at a critical moment in peace talks

The leader of Ukraine emphasized on Monday that complicated issues remained unresolved for now, after the US-Ukraine negotiations on Sunday in Miami, writes Reuters. An analysis by the Kyiv Independent noted at the same time that the chances of a peace deal are now very slim, despite Trump's pressure.

“Difficult issues still remain unresolved” after US-Ukraine talks in Florida, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said from Paris on Monday, a day before US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Russia for talks with Kremlin officials.

Speaking after talks with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, Zelenskiy added that peace in Ukraine must be sustainable, an allusion to the security guarantees Kiev is demanding to avoid another Russian attack in the future.

US and Ukrainian officials held talks Sunday at a Miami golf resort owned by real estate magnate Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy, in an attempt to resolve the top issues blocking a possible peace deal.

The discussions were tense but positive, said the officials involved – but they have not yet found easy solutions to the main issues – the question of territorial control in Donbas and the prospect of Ukraine's accession to NATO.

Zelenski received a show of support from French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday and will head to Ireland on Tuesday. The Ukrainian defense minister was also due to report to Brussels for meetings with NATO officials.

Meanwhile, Witkoff was on his way to Moscow, where he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.

Behind the scenes of the negotiations

Kiev and its European allies have pressured Washington to revise a U.S.-proposed peace plan that initially supported Russia's main demands: that Ukraine cede more territory, reduce the size of its military and abandon NATO membership, among others.

Ukraine has argued that these conditions would amount to a surrender and leave it vulnerable to another possible invasion by Russian forces.

According to information cited by RBC-Ukraine, representatives of Ukraine at the negotiations in Miami on Sunday rejected the withdrawal of troops from the unoccupied part of Donbas as a precondition for a peace agreement.

Ukrainian negotiators emphasized that such an approach is impossible due to constitutional limitations, public opinion in Ukraine and the incompatibility of such a requirement with the actual situation on the front.

Therefore, Kiev's position remains unchanged: the territorial discussion must begin with the current contact line.

“The search for potential solutions continues, but this is, of course, a very complex issue,” a source told RBC-Ukraine.

The US plan proposed that the region, which includes a “fortified belt” of heavily defended cities and towns considered crucial to Ukraine's security, would become a Russian demilitarized zone that Moscow would administer but not deploy military forces.

A source with direct knowledge of the negotiations told CNN that talks are moving forward on the issue, though it's unclear in what form.

The Ukrainian delegation also reminded that the country's commitment to joining NATO is enshrined in the Constitution, and changing it in the name of a peace agreement would set a negative precedent.

At the same time, the CNN source noted that there are potential ways to preserve constitutional provisions and ensure Ukraine's security.

The negotiators discussed, for example, a scenario in which Ukraine would effectively be deprived of the possibility of joining NATO by concluding an agreement with Russia. However, Kiev would not be legally bound to abandon its aspirations to join the alliance.

A senior American official, for his part, told The Wall Street Journal that during the talks, Kiev and Washington discussed the possible date of new elections in Ukraine, but did not resolve the issue of security guarantees from the US and the West.

Few real expectations from Moscow

While Steve Witkoff's meeting with Vladimir Putin is eagerly awaited, some analysts don't think it will bring much new.

Alexandra Filippenko, an expert on US-Russia relations, told the Kyiv Independent that the meeting would only produce official statements and perhaps new channels of communication with Trump's team.

“But it certainly won't be about major progress or about or real agreements,” she said, adding that any significant decision would be negotiated privately.

Despite weeks of negotiations and pressure from Washington, the signs ahead of Witkoff's visit to Moscow are grim, Kyiv Independent writes.

The reasons? Just days before US-Ukraine consultations in Florida on November 30, Vladimir Putin signaled that he saw no reason to make significant concessions.

Kiev, meanwhile, has shown signs that it is just as reluctant to give in to the Kremlin's maximalist demands.

“It takes a significant shift on the front for one side, or even both sides, to come to the conclusion that they have little or nothing to gain from continuing the war,” explained Jenny Mathers, an expert on international politics.

Putin's claim

President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that a draft peace plan discussed by the United States and Ukraine could become the basis of future agreements to end the conflict in Ukraine, but that if it does not materialize, Russia will continue to fight.

Putin also issued a key claim to Ukraine.

“Ukrainian troops must withdraw from the territories they control, and then the fighting will stop. If they don't leave, then we will achieve this by armed means,” Putin said.

He stated that Russian forces are advancing into Ukraine at a faster pace.

Putin later specified that Donbas and Crimea should be the key topic of Russia-US talks.