Ukraine peace talks in Miami 'constructive', says Russian envoy Dmitriev

Florida [US], December 21 : Special envoy of the Russian President and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, Kirill Dmitriev, stated that the discussions on a settlement for a peace deal in Ukraine currently underway in Miami are being held constructively, noting that talks, which started on Friday, will continue through Sunday (local time), TASS reported.

The negotiations were held between Russia and the United States as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Washington to increase pressure on Moscow.

The meeting included Dmitriev, US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as reported by TASS.

Speaking to reporters following the meeting on Saturday, Dmitriev said, "Discussions are being held constructively," as quoted by TASS.

"They started and continue today and will also continue tomorrow," Dmitriev added, underscoring the ongoing engagement between the parties.

Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that he may also join the discussions, Al Jazeera reported.

Speaking on the talks, Rubio said that while progress has been made, "there is still a way to go." "The role we're trying to play is figuring out whether there's any overlap here that they can agree to... That may not be possible. I hope it is. I hope it can get done this month, before the end of the year," he added, as quoted by Al Jazeera.

Trump's envoys have been negotiating a 20-point peace plan with Ukrainian, Russian, and European officials over the past few weeks.

While US officials have said progress has been made, significant differences remain on key issues, including territorial disputes and security guarantees that Kyiv considers essential for any agreement.

Russia, meanwhile, has shown little willingness to compromise on its territorial ambitions in Ukraine, believing it can consolidate its position as the war continues and divisions emerge among Ukraine's European allies, as reported by Al Jazeera.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy said the US has proposed a framework for peace talks that would bring Ukraine and Russia to the same table. Still, he expressed scepticism about whether such a meeting would yield any substantive breakthrough, Politico reported.

He has also described the 1994 Budapest Memorandum as a "piece of paper", stressing that Ukraine will not accept any peace agreement with Russia that lacks strong and enforceable security guarantees.

In a post on X, Zelenskyy said that while peace is preferable to war, it cannot come at the cost of Ukraine's sovereignty or security, as he called for a "just, durable peace" that cannot be undermined by future aggression from Moscow.

Drawing a parallel with the Budapest Memorandum - under which Moscow and other powers provided security assurances to Kyiv in exchange for their giving up the nuclear arsenals they inherited from Soviet times - Zelenskyy said the agreement failed to protect his country.

"I do not see the Budapest Memorandum as an agreement; I see it as nothing more than a piece of paper, because our territories were occupied, and so many people were killed. And this agreement did not protect us. I do not consider it strong or effective," he said in his post.

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