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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday that he held an extensive discussion with U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, focusing on possible ways to end the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia. According to Zelenskiy, the conversation lasted about an hour and was constructive, covering a wide range of ideas aimed at advancing meaningful peace talks.
In a statement shared on the Telegram messaging app, Zelenskiy described the exchange as productive and detailed, noting that several new ideas were discussed. He emphasized that the talks explored potential formats for negotiations, possible meetings between key leaders, and timelines that could realistically move the peace process forward. Zelenskiy stressed that these discussions are part of Ukraine’s continuous diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the conflict, which has lasted nearly four years.
Former President Trump has been actively pushing for a negotiated settlement to the war, and recent diplomatic initiatives led by Witkoff and Kushner have shown gradual progress. Earlier this week, Zelenskiy unveiled a revised 20-point draft peace plan, which he described as the core framework for ending hostilities. This updated proposal is a streamlined version of an earlier 28-point draft that had previously been discussed by the United States and Russia and was widely criticized for favoring Moscow, particularly due to provisions involving territorial concessions and limits on Ukraine’s military.
Zelenskiy acknowledged that major territorial issues remain unresolved in the current draft, adding that a direct meeting with Trump would likely be necessary to address the most sensitive and complex aspects of the negotiations. Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia is reviewing peace-related documents delivered to Moscow by Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev following talks in the United States.
Zelenskiy also confirmed that Ukraine’s chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, planned further discussions with U.S. negotiators later in the day, underscoring Ukraine’s commitment to round-the-clock diplomatic work to achieve a durable and realistic peace.
