Zelensky attempts positive spin on peace process despite war in Iran distracting Trump

Ukrainian and US delegations concluded two days of talks aimed at ending Russia’s war in Ukraine over the weekend in Miami, Florida, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Sunday.

Russian negotiators were not present at the talks, meaning that the current pause in trilateral peace negotiations between Ukraine, Russia and the US continued, after a previous round of talks in Abu Dhabi were cancelled two weeks ago in the wake of the US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

In his evening address to the nation on Sunday, Zelensky said it was “clear that the attention of the American side at this time is primarily focused on the situation around Iran”, though he added that he had received “signals that further exchanges may be possible”.

The Ukrainian delegation in Miami was led by former Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, accompanied by Zelensky’s chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov, parliamentary leader Davyd Arakhamia, and Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Serhiy Kyslytsa.

They met with a US delegation led by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Witkoff called the meeting “constructive” in a statement on X, and initially claimed there had been “a breakthrough on a key humanitarian matter”, before his post was edited to say that the delegations had simply focused on “critical humanitarian efforts in the region”.

Umerov in turn said on Telegram that the talks had been focused on “issues of reliable security guarantees and the humanitarian track, in particular the exchange and return of our citizens”, and thanked the United States for its “consistent engagement in the negotiation process”.

The talks come amid concerns that Trump’s recent focus on the Middle East would hamper Ukraine’s war effort, after Zelensky told the BBC last week he had a “very bad feeling" about the impact of the conflict on the war in Ukraine.

Zelensky said that peace negotiations were being constantly postponed for “one reason — war in Iran", adding: “For Putin, a long war in Iran is a plus. In addition to energy prices, it means the depletion of US reserves, and the depletion of air defence manufacturers.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed on Friday that Russia hoped the current pause in three-way talks would be “temporary”. The last trilateral peace talks were held in Geneva in February, and ended with little progress, although later reports suggested Russian negotiators had accepted certain US security guarantees for Ukraine.