Trump's emissaries held new talks with Ukraine and European countries on next steps to end the war
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Photo: Jacquelyn Martin / AP / Profimedia
President Donald Trump's advisers held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and national security advisers from Britain, France and Germany on Wednesday about next steps to end Russia's war in Ukraine, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said, as quoted by Reuters and Agerpres.
“We've been focused on how to move the talks forward in a practical way within @POTUS's peace process,” including strengthening security safeguards, “and developing effective conflict prevention mechanisms to help end war and ensure it doesn't happen again,” Witkoff said in a social media post.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and Ukraine's chief negotiator Rustem Umerov also attended the talks.
Europe was represented by British National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell, French National Security Adviser Emmanuel Bonne and German National Security Adviser Gunther Sautter.
.@SecRubio @jaredkushner and I just had a productive call with National Security Advisors Jonathan Powell of the United Kingdom, Emmanuel Bonne of France, Günter Sautter of Germany, and @rustem_umerov @ZelenskyyUa to discuss advancing the next steps in the European peace process.…
— Special Envoy Steve Witkoff (@SEPeaceMissions) December 31, 2025
Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Tuesday that the national security advisers of the “Coalition of the Will” will meet in Ukraine on Saturday, and then the leaders of the respective countries will meet in France on January 6.
This coalition led by Great Britain and France groups more than 30 countries, but it is not yet known which of them will participate in the meetings.
Separately, Ukraine's top negotiator Rustem Umerov said on Wednesday that Kiev had coordinated its positions with the US and its European allies in telephone talks at the level of security advisers.
In a message on Telegram, Umerov writes that he “reported” to President Volodymyr Zelensky about the phone conversations. Earlier, Donald Trump's emissary, Steve Witkoff, had stated that Zelenskiy would have participated in these discussions.
“We coordinated our positions and planned new meetings with European and American partners in January,” Umerov said. Work will continue in the new year to produce 'tangible' results in efforts to resolve the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was recently in Florida, where he met with US President Donald Trump. Following the meeting, the Ukrainian leader said the US peace plan was 90% approved. Territorial issues and those related to the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia remain in abeyance. Zelenski also said that he agreed with Donald Trump on security guarantees, the Rbc.ua portal notes.
