Conversations in Florida. Zelensky: Does Russia really want the war to end?

We are continuing diplomatic efforts to end Russia's war against Ukraine, but the key issue is to determine to what extent Russia actually wants it, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday after a meeting of the Ukrainian delegation with representatives of the American administration in Florida.

“The key issue is to determine to what extent Russia is ready to take actions aimed at actually ending the war (…), especially now that geopolitical tensions have intensified due to the situation around Iran,” Zelensky said in a message published on the X website.

He added that talks with the Americans would continue on Sunday, and the Ukrainian side would soon publish a more detailed report on their progress.

“This is important news for the whole world: diplomacy continues and we are working to end Russia's war against Ukraine. Nobody wants this war,” added the Ukrainian president.

On Saturday in Florida, the Ukrainian delegation, led by Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov, met with representatives of the American administration Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

The Ukrainian delegation also included the head of Zelensky's office, General Kyrylo Budanov, his deputy Serhiy Kyslytsia, and Davyd Arakhamiya, chairman of the parliamentary faction of the presidential Servant of the People party.

In addition to the issue of ending the fighting, the negotiating group is also discussing with the American side the PURL program, a NATO mechanism enabling allies to finance the purchase of weapons and ammunition from American warehouses for Ukraine, as well as missiles for Patriot systems and a drone agreement.

Reuters reported on Friday that the talks in Miami may prepare the ground for another meeting between US President Donald Trump and Zelensky. According to the agency, the talks were initially supposed to include Russian negotiators and were planned to take place in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Their topic was to be to develop a solution to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has been ongoing since 2022. However, the trilateral meeting was postponed after the US and Israel started the war against Iran on February 28. (PAP)

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