US President Donald Trump is a little disappointed with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as he didn’t read the proposal to end the war with Russia, while Vladimir Putin accepted it. While talking with the reporters at the red carpet of the Kennedy Center Honors, Trump said Ukraine loved the proposal, but Zelenskyy is not ready. “We have been speaking to President Putin and Ukrainian leaders, including President Zelenskyy. I am a little disappointed that President Zelenskyy hasn’t read the proposal yet…Russia’s fine with it (proposal)…But I am not sure that Zelenskyy is fine with it. His people love it. But he is not ready…” Trump said. The remarks came as talks between US and Ukrainian negotiators over a proposed peace deal with Russia ended in Miami this weekend, with few new developments and lingering questions over security guarantees and territorial issues, according to Ukrainian officials. As the talks concluded, the Kremlin welcomed US President Donald Trump’s new security strategy, saying it dropped the language of past US administrations describing Russia as a threat.The marathon Miami meeting began on Thursday between US special envoy Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Ukrainian officials Rustem Umerov and Andriy Hnatov.After three days of talks, “difficult issues remain,” Ukrainian Ambassador to the US Olga Stefanishyna said Saturday, “but both sides continue working to shape realistic and acceptable solutions.” She added, “The main challenges at this stage concern questions of territory and guarantees, and we are actively seeking optimal formats for addressing them. More details will be provided once all information is compiled.”Territory and security guarantees are long-standing sticking points for any possible deal. Ukraine maintains that a just end to the war would include reliable security guarantees and would not force it to surrender more territory to Russia.As the meetings kicked off earlier this week, President Vladimir Putin told reporters in India that his country intended to seize Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region by any means.The Miami talks were preceded by a visit to Moscow by US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Trump said Wednesday the US delegation had a “very good meeting” with Putin, and that they believed the Russian President “would like to see the war ended” — though the talks failed to yield a breakthrough.In a social media post on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he had a “long” and “constructive” phone conversation with Witkoff and Kushner, as well as his Ukrainian delegation in Miami. “We covered many aspects and went through key points that could ensure an end to the bloodshed and eliminate the threat of a new Russian full-scale invasion,” Zelenskyy said. “We agreed on the next steps and formats for talks with the United States.” He also noted “the risk of Russia failing to honour its promises, as has happened repeatedly in the past.”Zelenskyy said that Hnatov and Umerov were expected to deliver him a “detailed in person report” on the negotiations. “Not everything can be discussed over the phone,” Zelenskyy said. “So we need to work closely with our teams on ideas and proposals.”Peace and its conditions will also be the subject of a meeting on Monday between Zelenskyy and French, British and German leaders in London. The discussion will cover “the situation and the ongoing negotiations within the framework of the American mediation,” French President Emmanuel Macron said Saturday.
